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1712— 19 12 

The 
Ta\^o Hunareatn Anniversary 

of the 

INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN S^/t^ 

of ."? oS'C- 

Cnatnam, Massachusetts 



A Memorial or Report 

of 

the Celebration of 

August 1st and 2nd, 1912, 

and 

of the Sunday Services 

August 4th, 1912. 




PUBLISHED BY 

AUTHORITY OF THE TOWN 

CELEBRATION COMMITTEE 

1913. 






^ A 






INTRODUCTORY, 



As the two hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of 
Chatham as a town approached, the desirability of fittingly com- 
memorating this important event, which had from time to time 
been advocated by those interested in the history and in the future 
development of the town, became a matter of general and sympa- 
thetic interest. The first concrete result, however, appeared in 
the form of an article in the warrant for the annual town meeting 
of the year 1911, which was as follows: 

"Article 30. To see what action the town will take relative to 
the proper observance of the 200th anniversary of the incorpora- 
tion of the town of Chatham, which will occur June 11, 1912." 

On this article it was voted on February 8, 1911: "That a com- 
mittee of three be appointed to retire and bring in a list of fifteen 
named persons to serve on a committee for the celebration of the 
two hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of 
Chatham in the year 1912." The moderator, Oscar C. Nickerson, 
appointed as this committee .Toshua A. Nickerson, chairman of the 
board of selectmen; Alfred C. Harding, town clerk and treasurer, 
and George W. Bloomer, town auditor. These gentlemen retired 
and reported the names of the fifteen following persons: Alfred 
C. Harding, Clarendon A. Freeman, Esq., Samuel Hawes, Alonzo F. 
Cahoon, Oliver E. Eldredge, Hon. Heman A. Harding, Carl W. 
Sherman, Oscar G. Nickerson, Alvin Z. Atkins, George W. Bloomer, 
George H. Nickerson, 2d, Cyrenus Ellis, Erastus T. Bearse, Esq., 
Samuel W. Rogers and Joshua A. Nickerson, Esq. The list of names 
was read to the meeting and accepted, and these fifteen were de- 
clared elected as a committee. 

This committee, known as the General Committee, met in the 
selectmen's office October 5, 1911, and chose George W. Bloomer as 
secretary and treasurer; and, from time to time, thereafter, elected 



to its membership sixty-one others, present or former residents of 
the town, whose names appear elsewhere in this report. 

After several meetings, on December 5, 1911, a sub-committee of 
five, consisting of Oscar C. Nickerson, Hon. Heman A. Harding, 
Joshua A. Nickerson, Esq., Alfred C. Harding and George W. Bloomer, 
w^as appointed to map out a tentative plan for the celebration and 
submit the same to the general committee. This sub-committee met 
December 16, 1911; prepared a plan for a two days' celebration, 
and, on January 25, 1912, reported the same to the general commit- 
tee. This plan was substantially the same as the one finally 
adopted. 

At the annual town meeting of 1912, an informal report of 
progress was made to the town, and an appropriation of $750.00 for 
the purpose of the celebration was granted. 

May 1, 1912, a second sub-committee of seven, consisting of 
William C. Smith, Esq., Hon. Heman A. Harding, Oscar C. Nicker- 
son, Joshua A. Nickerson, Esq., Mrs. Sarah P. Kent, Mrs Emily S. 
Shattuck and Mrs. Dora A. Jones, was appointed by the general com- 
mittee to work out more in detail and with such changes as should 
seem best, the general scheme or program already adopted. This 
sub-committee made a careful study of the entire situation; and, 
on May 15, 1912, made an exhaustive report in writing, covering all 
details. This report was accepted and carried out. 

It is not necessary to give here the full text of this report. 
Its principal recommendations were, that the responsibility for the 
preparation and management of the celebration along the lines laid 
down in the report, should be placed in the hands of an executive 
committee of nine members, with authority to appoint and supervise 
all necessary sub-committees and to do all other things which tbo 
general committee might do, but without authority to pledge the 
credit of the committee or of the town beyond the-_ amount which 
the general committee should from time to time determine; that 
this executive connnittee should have at least one of its members 
on each sub-committee, if possible, so that at each meeting of the 
executive committee, all committees should be represented and bo 



able to report on the work clone; tluit the executive . eoniniiilec 
should appoint a finance committee, without whose approval in 
writing no bills should be paid, and that no expenditures should be 
authorized by the executive committee except in writing. 

The executive committee chosen in accordance with this report, 
consisted of the following persons: Alfred G. Harding, chairman; 
Joshua A. Nickerson, Esq., George W. Bloomer, Erastns T. Bearsc, 
Esq., George H. Nickerson, 2d, Cyrenus Ellis, Mrs. Sarah P. Kent, Mrs. 
■Rebecca A. Nickerson, secretary; Mrs. Emily S. Shattuck. 

They appointed the several sub-committees, whose names ap- 
pear elsewhere in this report. 

These several committees,— the general committee, the executive 
committee and the various sub-committees,— all worked together 
with marked energy and harmony for' the 'success of the celebra- 
tion, and to them and to the generous support of the town and of 
the individual contributors, is due much of the credit for carrying 
out an undertaking, which, we believe, is generally regarded as the 
largest and most successful of its kind, which the town has ever 
had, and which may well be the source of lasting satisfaction to all 
concerned. 

Although the actual anniversary of incorporation occurred in 
June, it was deemed best, in order to accommodate the great 
majority of people interested, to have the celebration on the first 
and second of August following. 

5 



GENERAL COMMITTEE 

on the Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the 

Incorporation of the Town of Chatham. 



Elected by the Town 
Alfred C. Harding, chairman, Carl W. Sherman, 

George W. Bloomer, Oscar C. Nickerson, 

secretary and treasurer, Alvin Z. Atkins, 

Clarendon A. Freeman, Esq., George H. Nickerson, 2d, 

Samuel Hawes, Cyrenus Ellis, 

'Alonzo F. Cahoon, Erastus T. Bearse, Esq., 

Oliver E. Eldridge, * Samuel W. Rogers, 

Hon. Heman A. Harding, Joshua A. Nickerson, Esq. 

Elected by the Committee Appointed by the Town 
Hon. James W. Hawes, New York, David E. Gould, Esq., Brookline, 
Henry E. Jepson, Esq., Orange, N. J., Augustus L. Hardy, 

H. Fisher Eldredge, Esq., Portsmouth, N. H., William C. Smith, Esq., 
Frank J. Hamblin, Bolton, Mass., Fred H. Loveland, Newton, 



Augustus C. Ellis, 
Charles A. Howes, 
Heman F. Chase, 
William L. Nickerson, 
Marcus W. Howard, 
Cyrus S. Kent, 
'Osborn Nickerson, Esq., 
* Sparrow M. Young, 
Frank L. Howes, Brookline, 



Seymour W, Harding, 

John J. Howes, 

Carmi H. Shattuck, 

C. H. Smallhoff, 

Keeper Joseph C. Kelley, 

*Keeper Franklin E. Hamilton, 

'Keeper Herbert E. Eldredge, 

Keeper Hezekiah F. Doane, 

Herman Taylor, 



John P. Farmer, Supt. Silas H. Harding, Portsmouth, N. H., 

])r. Benjamin D. Gifford, *Mrs. Eglantine F. Nickerson, 

Cyrus 0. Rockwell, New York, *Mrs. Huldah Howard, 

'Augustus M. Bearse, Middleboro, Mrs. Kate Harding, 

6 



Thomas W. Rogers, Lynn, 
Williard T. Sears, Boston, 
Stephen W. Reynolds, Newton, 
Edgar R. Taylor, Boston, 
Levi W. D. Eldredge, 
Edward W. Davis, New York, 
Levi S. Atwood, 
'William Butler, Boston, 
Herbert A. Ghapin, Somerville, 
Everett Yeaw, Orange, N. J., 
Jason K. Vincent, Brockton, 
Frederic A. Wilkey, Cambridge, 
Atwood, Pattee and Potter, Boston, 

*Ephraim 
"Declined or resigned. 



Mrs. Sarah P. Kent, 

Mrs. Myra E. Ellis, 

*Mrs. E. May Nickerson, 

Mrs. Rebecca A. Nickerson, 

Mrs. Emily S. Shattuck, 

Mrs. Alice Pike Gifford, 

Miss Bertha M. Arey, 

Mrs. Edith C. Harding, 

Mrs. Irene J. Boyd, 

Mrs. Dora A. Jones, 

Mrs. Mary G. Farmer, 

Mrs. Mary E. Dill, 

Gurtis A. Guild. 

Smith. 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 



Alfred C. Harding, chairman, 

Mrs. Rebecca A. Nickerson, secretary, 

Joshua A. Nickerson, 

George W. Bloomer, 

Gyrenus Ellis. 



Mrs. Emily S. Shattuck, 

Mrs. Sarah P. Kent, 

George H. Nickerson, 2d, 

Erastus T. Bearse, 



SUB-COMMITTEES 

Appointed by the Executive Committee. 



PARADE 

Oscar C. Nickerson, chairman. 

Samuel Hawes. 

DINNER 
Erastus T. Bearse, chairman, 
Mrs. Irene J. Boyd, 

Garmi H. Shattuck. 

SPEAKERS 

Heman A. Harding, chairman, 

William C. Smith. 



L. Sidney Atwood, 



Seymour W. Harding, 
John P. Farmer, 



Clarendon A. Freeman, 



BASEBALL AND OTHER GAMES 
Joshua A. Nickerson. 
OLD HOME SOCIAL AND RECEPTION 

Mrs. Emily S. Shattuck, chairman, Mrs, Sarah P. Kent, 

Mrs, Rebecca A, Nickerson, Mrs, Florence I. Smith. 

Mrs. Myra E. Ellis, Mrs. Dora A. Jones, 

WATER CARNIVAL 

Heman A. Harding, chairman, Cyrcnus Ellis, 

George W. Bloomer. 

BALL 

Cyrus S. Kent. 

GROUNDS, TENTS AND APPURTENANCES 

George H. Nickerson, 2d, chairman, Charles A. Howes, 

Herman Taylor, Cyrenus Ellis, 

Oliver E. Eldredge, Augustus C. Ellis, 

Carmi H. Shattuck. 

MUSIC 
Erastus T. Bearse, chairman, 

William L. Nickerson, 

RAILROAD RATES 
Joshua A. Nickerson, chairman, * 

DECORATIONS 
Seymour W, Harding, chairman, 
H. Fisher Eldredge, 
Mrs, Edith C. Harding, 
Marcus W. Howard, 
Levi W, D. Eldredge, 

John H. Taylor. 

GENERAL INFORMATION 

General Committee entire. 

POLICE 

Joshua A. Nickerson, chairman, 

Augustus L, Hardy, 
HISTORIC SITES 
William C. Smith, chairman, 

William L. Nickerson, 
PRINTING AND ADVERTISING 
Erastus T. Bearse. chairman. Oscar C, Nickei-son 



Cyrus S, Kent, 



Oscar C, Nickerson, 

John J, Howes, 

Mrs. Kate Harding, 

Mrs. Myra E. Ellis, 

Carl W. Sherman, 

Alonzo F. Cahoon. 



Alvin Z. Atkins, 
Alfred C. Harding. 



SOUVENIRS AND BADGES 

Alfred C. Harding, chairman, Mrs. Emily S. Shattuck, 

Seymour W. Harding. 
RECEPTION OF INVITED GUESTS 
Joshua A. Nickerson, chairman, Alvin Z. Atkins, 

Augustus L. Hardy, Heman A. Harding, 

Clarendon A. Freeman, William G. Smith, 

Alfred C. Harding, H. Fisher Eldredge. 

BASKET BALIi 

Miss Bertha M, Arey. 

FINANCE AND AUDITING 

Joshua A. Nickerson, chairman, Erastus T. Bearse, 

George H. Nickerson, 2d. 

OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER 

C. H. Smallhoff. 

CHURCH SERVICES 

Rev. A. W. C. Anderson, Rev. S. H. Emery, 

Rev. Frederick C. Bisbee. 

9 



THE FIRST DAY. 



THE EXERCISES OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 1912. 

The weather of the first morning was of the most discouraging 
aspect. The rain came down in torrents and seemingly would dis- 
arrange all plans for the day. Orders were given to postpone the 
parade until the next morning, but by 9.30 the clouds began to 
break, the rain ceased and soon the welcome sun began to shine. 
Word was then given to proceed with the remaining program for 
the day. A large number of people gathered at the railroad station 
to meet the invited guests and the band. Gov. Foss, who was 
expected, did not appear, but a line of march was formed headed 
by the Salem Cadet band and under escort' of Chief Marshall A. A. 
Howard of the Stage Harbor light. There was a platoon of deputy 
sheriffs, the light-keeping marshall and his staff of rough riders, 
the band, a line of carriages containing invited guests, the speak- 
ers of the day and town officials, followed by a line of automobiles 
of summer residents. The procession moved slowly through Main 
street and Cross street to the Rockwell grounds, a pleasant grassy 
bluff above the Mill pond, where an immense dinner tent had been 
erected. 

Concerning the dinner the correspondent of the Boston Daily 
Globe writes as follows: 

"The dinner on the Rockwell grounds was a great success. A 
huge circus tent, with ample room for the 600 diners, had been 
pitched on the bluff and an outdoor kitchen was added. Several of 
the pretty girls from li to 18 years of age in Chatham had enlisted 
to wait on table. They were all dressed in white, they all worked 
hard and they were certainly Chatham's most atti-active exhibit to 
visitors. 

11 



"Close by the bandstand were two tables, one for the guests of 
the day and the other for the old people of the town. Wonderful 
old people they were, hardly one of them less than 80 years old, 
the men all showing weathered faces and the thickened fingers of 
the seafarer, the women with the bright eyes and the vivid inter- 
est that is characteristic of Cape Cod. 

"At the guest table were Rev. Samuel H. Emery, who invoked 
the blessing. Rev. A. W. C. Anderson and Mrs. Anderson, William C. 
Smith, Esq., the town's historian, and Mrs. Smith, Hon. James W. 
Hawes of New York, the orator of the day; Joseph C. Lincoln, "the 
writer who invented Cape Cod," and Mrs. Lincoln, C. A. Freeman, 
Esq., who presided at the dinner, and Mrs. Freeman; Rev. S. S. 
Nickerson and Mrs. Nickerson, Edward L. Chase, Esq., Senator 
Edric Eldridge and Mrs. Eldridge, Henry H. Sears, Esq., and Capt. 
C. Otis Rockwell and Mrs. Rockwell." 

After singing "The Star Spangled Banner" and after the invoca- 
tion by Rev. Samuel H. Emery, the following courses were served 
to the great gathering of over 600 people: 

Menu. 

Cold Roast Turkey, Stuffed 

Cold Boiled Ham Gold Boiled Tongue 

Hot Mashed Potatoes Fresh Vegetable Salad 

Olives Dill Pickles 

•Rolls and Butter 

Assorted Creams and Sherbets 

Frozen Pudding 

Assorted Cakes 

Coffee 

The McDonald Weber Co. of Boston were the caterers, and their 
services were very satisfactory. 

At the close of the dinner, music was rendered by the Salem 
Cadet band, 21 pieces, which had been hired for the occasion. 
Prayer was then offered by Rev. Seymour S. Nickerson of Somer- 
ville, formerly pastor for many years of the Seamen's Bethel, Bos- 
ton, a native of the town, after which the entire company joined 
in singing "Home, Sweet Home." 

12 



Clarendon A. Freeman, Esq., Register of the Barnstable County 
Probate court, the presiding officer of the occasion, then spoke as 
follows: 

OPENING ADDRESS OF C. A. FREEMAN, ESQ. 

It becomes my very pleasant duty at this time to extend to 
you one and all, a sincere and hearty welcome to Chatham on this, 
her natal day. You are all aware that we are assembled to cele- 
brate the two hundredth anniversary of our incorporation as a 
township, a program has been prepared to cover the several features 
of this celebration, and nearly every citizen has been assigned some 
duty in connection therewith, and it has fallen to my lot to act as 
the presiding officer of this meeting. Acting in that capacity it 
does not come within the scope of my duty to enter into any ex- 
tended remarks eulogistic of the virtues of our people or to detail 
the historical events of the past two centuries. This duty has 
been assigned to one who has given much time to research and 
study of the events connected with our history and has prepared 
an historical address especially for this occasion. 

I know not to what particular events he will allude or what he 
may consider has been the dominating resources upon which we 
have relied for the greater portion of our modest prosperities, but 
to me, and I believe to the most of you, it is peculiarly fitting that 
today we pay our grateful homage and raise our voices in thanks- 
giving and praise to yonder booming ocean, which, as our constant 
companion through the centuries, has also been equally constant in 
its never failing resources, ever bountiful of its stores for our 
comfort and profit. 

Our people have ever been "Partners of the Tide,"* all of our 
traditions are connected with it, and though yon harbor bar be 
moaning,' droning its sad requiem for the sufferings and sorrows it 

•Alluding to the popular novel by Mr. Joseph C. Lincoln, who sat 
on the platform. 

13 



has brought to so many firesides, and though its surges are ever 
lashing our shores as a constant reminder of that fury of which it 
is capable when its surface is stirred by the hurricane winds, yet 
'tis said far down beneath this wild commotion peaceful stillness 
reigneth evermore. 

And though it has been at times unkind and treacherous, furi- 
ous and hostile, we must not forget that calm and sunshine has 
followed every storm and through all its different phases there 
has flowed a constant and never failing beneficence. 

But the time allotted me will not allow of my entering into 
detail, as to the changes it has wrought upon the general contour 
of our coast line, nor the persistent perseverance of our people in 
working out ways and means to meet the varied changes of its 
ever ready benefits. But on this two hundredth anniversary of our 
municipal existence may we, still dwellers by the sea, be thankful 
and appreciative of the lessons it has taught us, of the unselfish 
devotion and physical courage that has descended from generation to 
generation in braving its fury for the rescue of human lives and 
the saving of property, and for the necessary frugality and thrift 
inculcated by dependence upon its capricious bounty. 

To me, and to all native citizens of Chatham, this is conse- 
crated soil, made sacred by holding all that is mortal of our fore- 
fathers and the loved ones of mo?e recent years, and as such our 
present duty to it is plain. 

Never to speak lightly, never to spurn, 

Always defend it, ne'er from it turn, 

Always be loyal, always be true, 

'Twas the land of your fathers, descended to you. 

And today may we of this generation turn our faces bravely 
toward the morrow ever cherishing the faith of our fathers, with 
faith in ourselves, with faith in each other, with faith in the re- 
sources that have never failed us, with a firm and abiding faith in 
God the Father, and we shall be rewarded, and rewarded abundantly. 



U 



At the close of his address, Mr. Freeman called upon Alpheus H. 
Hardy, Esq., of Boston, son of the late Hon. Alpheus Hardy of 
Boston, a native of the town. Mr. Hardy took the place on the 
program made vacant by the failure of Gov. Foss to appear, the 
latter having been detained in Boston on public business. Mr. 
Hardy had made no preparation, had not expected to be called upon 
and his very appropriate remarks v^ere wholly impromptu. 

He spoke substantially as follows: 

ADDRESS OF ALPHEUS H. HARDY, ESQ. 

It is a pleasure to be present at these commemorative exer- 
cises and to take some part in them, but I must be pardoned if 
my remarks are short and largely reminiscent, for as you see they 
are strictly impromptu. My chief purpose in being present is to 
pay my respects to the memory of my ancestors, and to see in the 
faces of my living relatives the likeness of others who have gone, 
and I find the family likeness to be strong. 

It is a pleasure to recall the many pleasant days passed in this 
old town when a mere boy and to revive the associations of other 
times. 

In 1853 I crossed the Atlantic in a little 320 ton barque, of- 
ficered and manned by Chatham boys. The captain, Elisha Harding, 
was one of Nature's noblemen and I have always kept him in af- 
fectionate remembrance. The mate was Horace Taylor, who as cap- 
tain of our ship Wild Rover brought to Boston Joseph Neesima, 
afterwards fitly called the Apostle to Japan. I remember among 
the crew Freeman Burgess, pSssibiy a younger Harding, but most of 
them rose to hold commands, through the hawsehole and not by 
way of the quarter deck. 

In the years when we still owned ships, so far as possible, we 
chose Chatham or Cape men as masters. Among them was John 
Paine, to whom was gladly paid an higher wage if he would take 
his wife with him, David Nye Nickerson, Thomas Crowell, Thom- 
as Sparrow, Andrew Reynolds and others whose names I do not at 
the moment recall. 

15 



This choice was based upon the confidence and belief in the 
character and ability of the men. In connection with this let me 
mention an incident which occurred this morning. Captain Eph- 
raim Smith told me that my father told him when he had chartered 
him for a special voyage, "I have not chartered your vessel but 
you." It was not the ship but the man he wanted. I recall the 
unwillingness to let the now Rev. S. S. Nickerson go to sea in com- 
mand of the Heroine, which we had chartered, because of his ex- 
treme youthful appearance, until we learned that he was a Chatham 
boy. That settled it, and he made a successful voyage. 

Now I am going to give my friend Joseph Lincoln a story for 
his next book. The sympathizing neighbors of a man who had 
just buried his wife tried to console him with the fact that he 
had so long enjoyed the companionship of so good a woman. 
"Yes," he replied, "she was a good woman, a good housekeeper, a 
good cook and kept me well mended up, and I lived with her thirty 
years — but I never liked her." 

What a comment on these days of trial marriages and easy 
divorces! This may seem to be merely a funny story but, like Mr. 
Lincoln's books, the value lies not in the humor but in its por- 
trayal of character. To those who endure: to those that overcome 
is the reward given. 

I have intended in all that I have said to bring out and 
emphasize that sturdy character which has made our nation what it 
is and upon the continuance of which its future depends. 

The Cape was settled by men of pure old English stock; fortu- 
nately there has been but little admixture of foreign blood. That 
which our fathers have held sacred for two hundred years is ours 
to maintain. The past is theirs; our part is to secure the future 
for those who shall succeed us. 

Under the direction of Miss Georgia F. Perry of Chelsea, a 
native of the town, the audience then sang the following "Ode to 
Chatham:"* 

16 



Tune, Glory, Glory, Hallelujah. 

We gather fiom the North and South, 

We come from East and West, 
To meet upon ancestral soil 

Our father's feet have pressed; 
To greet our friends and kindred 

Where their sacred ashes rest, 
And to celebrate this day. 

Chorus — 
Glory, glory, hallelujah . glory, glory, hallelujah. 
Glory, glory, hallelujah, we celebrate this day. 

The virtues of our ancestors 

We now recount with pride. 
We know their hearts were stout and true, 

Their courage well was tried. 
Their memory to perpetuate 

We come from far and wide 
I And celebrate this day. 

Chorus. 

While here upon our nativo heath 

Our joyous songs we sing. 
And round about us Chatham hills 

Their echoes backward fling, 
We'll shout the name of Chatham 

Till earth and sky shall ring. 
And celebrate this day. 

Chorus. 

'These stanzas were written by Mr. William E. Nickerson of 
Cambridge, Mass., and sung at the first general meeting of the 
Nickerson family held at Chatham June 19, 1897. In the fifth line 
of the last stanza here printed, the word Nickerson in tbe original 
was changed to Chatham in order to adapt it to this occasion. 

Mr. Freeman then introduced Hon. James W. Hawes of New 
York City, a native of the town, who had been selected to prepare 
the historical address for the occasion. 

17 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS OF HON. JAMES W. HAWES. 

EARLY PERIOD. 

In May, 1602, the English hark "Concord," under command of 
Bartholomew Gosnold, rounded Monomoy Point and anchored in the 
bay, but the first Europeans to land here were a party of French- 
men, including the famous explorer Samuel de Champlain, ■ who 
spent about three weeks in Stage Harbor in October, 1606, on board 
their little craft of eighteen tons. They made considerable explora- 
tions, and their account with a map of the locality has come down 
to us. Their relations with the natives were at first friendly, but 
hostilities arose, which resulted in the death of four white men and 
no doubt of many Indians. On account of their misfortunes, the 
Frenchmen called the harbor Port Unfortunate. 

The next important event is the visit on a trading expedition 
late in 1622 of Gov. Bradford of Plymouth with a party of English- 
men, who obtained here eight hogsheads of * corn and beans. Gov. 
Bradford had with him as interpreter and guide the Indian 
Tisquantum or Squanto, who had entered the Plymouth settlement 
in March, 1621, and had been an almost indispensable aid to the 
Pilgrims in their relations with the natives, and in teaching them 
how to plant corn and where to fish. While hero this faithful 
friend died and doubtless was buried. 

This town was incorporated under the name of Chatham by an 
act of the General Court of the Province of Massachusetts Bay 
passed June 11, 1712, in the reign of Queen Anne. It was named 
for Chatham in England, but just why that name was chosen 
rather than the name of some other English town is not known. 
It had been previously known by its Indian name, which the Eng- 
lish generally wrote Mannamoiett, but pronounced Monomoit, and 



Especial credit must be given to William G. Smith, author of 
the "History of. Chatham," without whose judicious investigations 
carried on through many years this account of Chatham could not 
have been written. 

18 



which still remains in Monomoy, the dosignation of the beach that 
stretches southerly from the town. Nearly fifty years before its 
incorporation, in 1664, in the reign of Charles II, it had been settled 
by William Nickerson, who came down from Yarmouth (havmg pre- 
viously lived for a time in Boston), accompanied, or soon followed, 
by Robert, Samuel, John, William and Joseph, five of his six sons, 
and by his three daughters, Elizabeth, Anne and Sarah, with their 
husbands, Robert Eldred, Trustrum Hedges, and Nathaniel Covel. 
William Nickerson was a weaver of Norwich, England. He was 
born about 1604, and came to this country in 1637 with his wife. 
Anne (daughter of Nicholas Busby) and four children, five children 
being born to him after his arrival. He was a religious man, a 
man of some education, of much natural intelligence, of force and 
energy, and of a will strong to the point of obstinacy. He did not 
easily 'submit to the control of the governing powers of the Colony. 
He was the ancestor of all the great tribe of Nickersons that draw 
their origin from the Cape, and there are not many descendants 
of the other ancient families of this vicinity that do not, through 
the marriages of his female descendants, carry his blood m their 
veins. He died in 1689 or 1690, aged at least 85 years. His wite, 
born about 1609, had probably died a year or two before. They 
were probably buried on the hill near their home, where some 
graves are still visible. Descendants of Robert Eldred dwell in this 
town today, though not all the Eldredges here are of his line 
Trustrum Hedges, so far as we know, left no son. Nathaniel Covel 
left several sons. One of his sons, Nathaniel, and a grandson, 
James Covel, held prominent public office here, but the name has 
long been extinct in the town. 

William Nickerson built his house west of, and near the head ot 
Ryder's Cove. His son, Samuel Nickerson, and his son-in-law, 
Nathaniel Covel, located on the Eldredge Neck, between Crow's Pond 
an.l Rvder's Cove. John Nickerson built a house between the 
White Pond on the south and Emery's Pond on the north. Robert 
Eldred's house was near that now occupied by John K. Kendrick. 
Trustrum Hedges lived on the neck in West ChaUuun between the 



19 



Oyster Pond river and Buck's Greek, then known as Ragged Neck, 
and later as Harding's Neck. William Nickerson, Jr., after 1689, built 
a house at Old Harbor, but moved about 1700 to the Stephen Smith 
neighborhood. Joseph Nickerson resided on Pleasant Bay west of 
Crow's Pond. Nicholas Eldred, son of Robert, before his death in 
1702 lived south of the White Pond. Between this date and 1720, 
among the inhabitants of the town were William Nickerson, son of 
John, who lived in the vicinity of the present Davis residence; Jo- 
seph Eldredge, son of Robert, who lived on Stage Neck not far 
away; Jehoshaphat Eldred from Yarmouth, west of Crow's Pond; 
John Ryder, on Ryder's Gove; John Taylor, near Taylor's Pond in 
South Chatham; Nathan Bassett, near the East Harwich meeting 
house; Richard Sears, in the Village; Daniel Sears, his brother, 
who soon after 1710 built the Sears house that stood until 1863 on 
the site above the Soldiers' Monument; Isaac Hawes, in the Samuel 
D. Clifford neighborhood; Thomas Howes, who owned land on both 
sides of the road, near where the late Joshua Howes resided, and 
who probably resided on the spot where William C. Smith now 
lives; Thomas Doane, who owned much land between the White 
Pond and Oyster Pond river and elsewhere in West Chatham. 
The oldest house now standing in the town is one on the Stage 
Harbor road, formerly occupied by John Atwood. It was built by 
his grandfather, Joseph Atwood, probably before 1750. The region 
north and west of the old burying ground became the chief center 
of the town and so remained till about 1830. The land a little west 
of the burying ground is high and commands a fine view, while 
from the Great Hill not far away a marine view seldom excelled 
may be obtained. 

The early settlers of Chatham came chiefly from Yarmouth on 
the west and Eastham on the north. They were mostly grandchil- 
dren, but in some instances, children of the immigrant settlers of 
those towns. Fi-om Yarmouth, besides William Nickerson and his 
family, came the Bassett, Crowell, Hawes, Howes, Ryder, Sears, Tay- 
lor and other families. P'rom Eistham came the Atkins, Atwood, 
Doane, Godfrey, Harding, Smith and other families. As early as 

•20 



1656 William Nickerson had barguinecl for laud here with Matta- 
quason, Sachem of Monomoit, but as he had done so without the 
consent of the Colonial authorities, he became involved in a long 
controversy with them, which was settled in 1672 by his paying 90 
pounds to certain grantees of the colony, and obtaining from 
them and from Mattaquason and John Quason, his son, deeds thai 
covered all the central portion of the town, and also Stage Neck, 
with certain rights of pasturage. In 1679 he bought froni John 
Quason for 20 pounds the land west of that tract to the Harwicn 
bounds. He had thus purchased not less than 4,000 acres, compris- 
ing all but the eastern portion of the town where now North Chat- 
ham and the village lie. To this he added certain meadow land 
bought of John Quason in 1682. His son William Nickerson pur- 
chased the North Chatham region in 1689, and Samuel Smith ^^ J^^^^^" 
ham bought in 1691 the tract east of the Mill Pond known as Toms 
Neck. The land in the west and southwest part of the town vvas 
reserved as common land, to which the owners of other tracts haa 
certain rights. These lands were divided in 1712. 

The Indians in Monomoit were chiefly in the eastern portion, 
which had not been purchased by Nickerson. Champlain on his 
visit reported the number as 500 or 600, but in this estimate were 
probably included a good many from the neighborhood whom curi- 
osity to see the white men had led here. The pestilence of lolb 
seems to have reduced the population, for Gov. Bradford in 1622 
says the Indians were few. They with others on the Cape were at 
first under the care of Mr. Richard Bourne of Mashpee, who re- 
ported 71 praying Indians here in 1674, and afterwards of the Rev. 
Samuel Treat of Eastham. In 1685 the number of praying Indians in 
Monomoit was reported by Gov. Hinckley as 115, and according to 
his estimate the Indian population would have been 400 or 500. 
Probably some of these lived outside the bounds of Chatham. In 
1698 there were 14 Indian houses at Monomoit, and an Indian popu- 
lation of probably between 50 and 70. For the use of the Indians 
in the vicinity, a meeting house was early erected near the East 
Harwich Methodist Church within the present limits of Chatham. 

21 



Within 100 years of the settlement of William Nickerson the Indian 
population had become extinct, the Provincial census of 1765 re- 
porting no Indians in Chatham, although there were four in East- 
ham and 91 in Harwich. Indeed in 1759, guardians were appointed 
for the Indians of Harwich, Yarmouth and Eastham, hut none for 
Chatham, indicating there were few, if any, there then. 

In 1665 Monomoit was placed under the jurisdiction of Yar- 
mouth, but this relation being found inconvenient because of the 
remoteness of Yarmouth and for other reasons, in 1668 the settle- 
ment was placed under the jurisdiction of Eastham, which then 
included Orleans and adjoined Monomoit. In 1679 the village was 
made a constablewick, with power to choose a constable and a grand 
juryman. In 1680 it was required to raise two pounds towards 160 
pounds levied" to meet the Colony expenses. In 1690 the assessed 
valuation of the county was 11,687 pounds. Monomoit's share was 
but 505 pounds, only Succonessett (later Falmouth) being assessed at 
a smaller sum. In 1691 the village was empowered to send a 
"deputy to the General Court at Plymouth, and it thenceforth exer- 
cised the functions of a town, though not incorporated as such. 
The existing town records begin in 1693. In 1692 the Plymouth 
colony and the Colony of Massachusetts Bay were united in the 
province of Massachusetts Bay, which later became the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts. 

In 1674 William Nickerson be?an to sell tracts of his land to 
other settlers, and about 1690 in lividuals began to make purchases 
from the Indians of the lands not bought by Nickerson Some of 
the early settlers soon left, but others took their places. At the 
time of the union of the colonies, Monomoit contained about 150 
inhabitants. This number increased to 300 or more, when it was 
reduced to about 200 the year before incorporation by removals 
due to the lack of a settled minister, to high taxes, and to fear of 
•impressment. The population of the entire province in 1712 was 
between 70,000 and 80,000. 

The infant settlement bore its share in King Philip's war in 
1675 and 1676, contributing not only in taxes, but also sending five 

•22 



men, William Nickerson, Jr., John, Joseph and Benjamin Downing, 
and John Nesfield, the last named being killed in battle. John Tay- 
lor of Yarmouth, who afterwards settled here, also served in that 
war. England for many years was engaged in wars with France, 
which involved the colonies of the two comitries. These wars fall 
into three periods, 1090 to 1697, 1702 to 1713, and with an interval 
1744 to 1763, when the French colonies were ceded to England. 
This town from its position w^as peculiarly exposed to attack from 
the ocean. It had to keep ready to repel any such attack, and was 
also obliged to furnish its quota of men for distant expeditions. In 
1712 Governor Dudley, upon petiton of the inhabitants, directed, 
because of their weakness and the danger of French privateei-s, that 
without his special order, "no men of the foot company of the 
place be taken by impress for any service other than in their 
own village." The petition refers to their exposed position in these 
terms: "We are the most exposed to the invasion and spoil of 
the French pri\ateers of any town on the Cape, we having a good 
harbor for a vessel of fifty tons to run into and to ride at anchor 
within musket shot of several of our houses fronting on Oyster 
Cove and near our Stage Neck." At later dates however, the press 
gangs were active, and from a petition for compensation presented 
to the General Court in 1760, it appears that the following, most 
oi; whom were <::baMiam men. were impressed July 10th and re- 
turned home December 24, 1759, having billeted themselves for three 
w^eeks of their service: 

George Bearse, Daniel Howes, Jr., 

Abner Eldredge, Caleb Nickerson, 

Jonathan Godfrey, Henry Wilson, 

Thomas Harding, Archelaus Smith and 

Jethro Higgins, Henry Wilson. 

They received \'i shillings each for billeting and 1 pound, 11 shil- 
lings and 8 pence for wages, except in the case of Abner Eldredge, 
who received 18 shillings and 10 pence for wages. 

In -early times all the male inhabitants of military age were 
organized ;is a militia, and I'xerciscd in arms. 1'hose of each town 

•23 



formed a company, with a captain and in some cases an ensign 
or lieutenant. As early as 1681, the inhabitants of Monomoit were 
ordered to choose a fit man to exercise them and to provide them 
with fixed arms and ammunition. Each year there was a general 
training, and this practice was kept up till about 1830, the training 
ground being northwest of the old cemetery near the residence oc- 
cupied for a time by John Topping and later by Samuel D. Clifford. 
REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 

Before the close of the French war, the Colonies began to be 
stirred by the action of England. In 1761 an act was passed by 
Parliament which permitted general search warrants authorizing 
the customs officers to enter stores and dwellings to look for 
merchandise which it was claimed had not paid duty. When the 
officers were resisted and applied to the courts for writs of as- 
sistance, James Otis, a native of Barnstable, appeared against the 
application and argued that such writs were illegal and unconstitu- 
tional. The people of Massachusetts were greatly aroused. In 1765 
the Stamp Act still farther aggravated the feeling against the 
mother country. This act authorized the sending of troops to the 
Colonies, for which the Colonists were to find quarters and neces- 
saries. Although this act was repealed in 1766, it was followed by 
another, the next year, which imposed other taxes equally in viola- 
tion of the right of no taxation without representation maintained 
by the Colonies. There followed, before the actual outbreak of hostil- 
ities, much controversy between the Colonists and the royal officers 
in the province. 

In pursuance of the proceedings of a town meeting in Boston, 
held on the 12th and 13th of September, 1768, the selectmen of that 
town addressed a letter to the other towns advising the sending of 
delegates to a convention to meet in Boston on the 22d of that 
month. Upon receipt of this letter a town meeting was called in 
Chatham, which met September 26th and approved the call for a 
convention, but, owing to the low, declining circumstances of the 
town, "as being a very small and poor town which had of late been 
exposed to several distressing reductions," they declined to send a 

'24 



delegate. The selectmen, Joseph Doane, James Govel and John 
Hawes, were appointed a committee to draw up a communication 
to the convention in answer to the Boston letter. This committee 
on the 28th presented a report, in effect acquiescing in the views 
of the Boston meeting, which was unanimously adopted. The con- 
vention met in Boston September 22, 1768, and was in session six 
days. Its action was a protest against taxation by the British 
Parliament and against a standing army and other usurpations of 
British power. 

In November, 1772, the citizens of Boston in town meeting, on 
motion of Samuel Adams, appointed a committee of correspondence, 
"to state the rights of the colonists, and of this province in par- 
ticular, as men and Christians, and as subjects; and to communi- 
cate and publish the same to the several towns, and to the world, 
as the sense of this town, with the infringements and violations 
thereof that have been or from time to time may be made." 

A letter havijig been received in Chatham from the Boston 
committee, a town meeting was held December 17, 1772, when a 
committee of nine, consisting of James Covel, Paul Sears, Seth Smith, 
John Hawes, Barnabas Eldredge, Samuel Collins, Joseph Atwood, 
Thomas Hamilton and Richard Sears, was appointed to consider the 
grievances laid before them by the town of Boston and to report 
at an adjourned meeting. While by law legal voters had to have 
certain property qualifications, it was agreed that at this meeting 
all male inhabitants over 21 years of age should have a vote. On 
the 29th of December, the committee, styling itself the "committee 
of correspondence," reported the form of a letter to the selectmen 
of Boston, which, after careful consideration, was approved. The 
letter thanked the people of Boston for their action, agreed with 
their statement of rights and grievances, expressed the hope that 
such measures would be taken in a constitutional way as should 
redress the grievances already suffered and prevent those that 
were threatening, and indicated alarm at the governor's being made 
independent of provincial grants, and at the report that the judges 
and other officers were to be made so independent, as having a 

25 



direct tendency to compass their slavery. Tiie Chatham committee 
felt themselves at loss what measures to advise, but expressed their 
confidence in the wisdom of the men of Boston, who inhabited 
the metropolis and had superior means of information. The letter 
expressed the great concern the people of the town had for their 
charter rights and privileges, looking upon their civil and religious 
privileges as the sweetest and essential part of their lives, and, if 
these were torn from them, considering the remainder as scarce 
worth preserving. Barry in his History of Massachusetts refers to 
this letter from Chatham, a small and exposed town, in a compli- 
mentary tone. 

October 24, 1774, the town voted to send a committee of three, 
consisting of Joseph Doane, Nathan Bassett and Thomas Hamilton, 
to a County Congress; appointed Joseph Doane and Richard Sears 
a committee to receive contributions, and confirmed the Committee 
of Correspondence. The County Congress was held at Barnstable 
November 16th, and Captain Joseph Doane from this town took an 
active part. 

The legislature having been called by Gov. Gage to meet at 
Salem on October 5, 1774, and thp call having been countermanded 
by him, the members met on the 7th and resolved themselves into 
a Provincial Congress: 
"to take into consideration the dangerous and alarming situation 
of public affairs in this province, and to consult and determine 
on such measures as they shall judge will tend to promote the 
true interest of his majesty, and the peace, wellfare and pros- 
perity of the province." 
Chatham was represented in this Congress by Captain Joseph 
Doane. It recommended, among other things, if I may use a modern 
term, a boycott on tea. A third congress met May 31st, 1775, and 
Chatham was again represented by Joseph Doane, then styled 
"Colonel". 

At a town meeting December 27, 1774, a considei-able number 
of persons signed the association recommended by the Pi-ovincial 
Congress not to drink or use any tea after March 1st following. 

20 



On January 18, 1775, the military compato was reorganized. 
Lieut. Benjamin Godfrey was made captain; Mr. Richard Sears 
lieutenant; Mr. Joseph Crowell ensign, and Mv. John Emery mil- 
itary clerk. The town clerk remarks that all this was very 
pleasing to the citizens. Captain Godfrey commanded a company 
at the battle of Bunker Hill. 

August 13, 1776, the town raised 32 pounds for bounty for sol- 
diers who enlisted in the Northern Department, and 16 pounds, four 
shillings for powder bought for the town's use. 

December li, 1776, the selectmen reported tluit they had pro- 
cured nine men to go to Rhode Island for three months, at a boun- 
ty of nine pounds and fourteen shillings each. May 19, 1777, 
additional bounty was voted. The town also agreed to take care of 
the families of soldiers. 

In January, 177(), under a call for troops, a regiment had been 
raised in Plymouth and Barnstable counties. Thomas Hamilton, of 
Chatham, was adjutant. About the same time the Cape was divided 
into two regiments, Chatham falling into the second, of which Jo- 
seph Doane became colonel. Another call for troops was made the 
same year, Chatham's quota being 26. In April, 1778, five men 
were called for from the town, in 1779 there was a further call 
and in December, 1780, a call for nine men. In the meantime 
there had been calls on the town for clothing and provisions for 
the army. 

February 22, 1778, the selectmen and James Ryder, lieutenant of 
the militia company, reported that there had been raised in the 
town in 1777 ten men for three years and 20 men for eight months. 
Of these, Sergeant Hyatt Young and Benjamin Bassett served 
during the war. Joseph Young, son of Hyatt,' was among the eight 
months' men. Hyatt Young had served in the previous French war. 
A monument to him and his son Joseph stands in the Universalist 
cemetery. John Young, who served in 1776, and enlisted for three 
years in 1777, was reported drowned in 1778. 

In September, 1778, Capt. Benjamin Godfrey's company and 
Capt. Nathan Bassett's company of Chatham men, on an alarm to 

27 



Falmouth and New Bedford, served for a few days. Chatham men 
were also on short term service in Rhode Island and at the throw- 
ing up of intrenchments at Dorchester Heights in the spring of 
1776, when Gen. Washington drove the British from Boston. 

The Cape men were largely in service on the Coast Guard. 
Capt. Thomas Hamilton's company, which consisted mostly of Chat- 
ham men, served on the coast from July to December, 1775. Cape 
Cod men were largely drawn upon to man the numerous privateers 
that preyed upon the British commerce. Among others the sloop 
"Wolf," of which Capt. Nathaniel Freeman of Harwich (now Brew- 
ster) was commissioned master September 13, 177G, Joseph Doane of 
Chatham being lieutenant, had Chatham men in her crew. She 
had a brief career, being soon after sailing captured by a British 
74 gun ship disguised as a merchantman. The crew were carried 
to Brooklyn, N. Y., and placed in the prison ships, but were ex- 
changed at Newport, R. I., February 11, 1777. 

No doubt many local incidents occurred during the Revolution- 
ary war of which there is no record. One has been preserved. 
June 20, 1782, a British privateer sent some men into the harbor 
under cover of darkness and took possession of a brigantine. They 
hoisted the British flag on her and attempted to take her and a 
sloop out of the harbor under protection of the guns of the pri- 
vateer. But the local military company, under Col. Benjamin God- 
frey and Capt. Joseph Doane, assembled on the shore and by a 
well-directed fire compelled the British to abandon the vessels, and 
they were recaptured. 

WAR OF 1812. 

The embargo laid at the end of 1807, which prohibited foreign 
commerce and placed restrictions on the coasting trade, was much 
felt here, and in 1809 a town meeting was held, which adopted a 
petition to Congress against it. In 1812 there was a majority 
against the war with Great Britain, and the town meeting ex- 
pressed abhorrence of any alliance with France. During this war 
many of the young men, being driven from the sea, went to Rhode 
Island and other inland places, to work on farms. It is not likely 

28 



that many men from the town took part in the war. Zenas Young, 
whom some of us remember, was on the Constitution, in 1815, ni 
the fight when she captured the Gyane and the Levant. In one ot 
his fights he received a pike wound in boarding. Levi Eldredge, 
a native of the town, but then resident in Maine, was wounded m 
the battle of Lundy's Lane, July 25, 1814, and died of his wounds m 
Buffalo, N. Y. David Godfrey was an officer on the privateer 
Reindeer, of which Joseph Doane was lieutenant. 

CIVIL WAR. 
After the firing on Fort Sumter, public meetings were held in 
support of the Union, at which money was pledged and volunteers 
were obtained. The first official action of the town was taken m 
town meeting, July 22, 1862, when a bounty of $200 was voted to 
each volunteer, and $4 a month was pledged to each member of 
the families of enlisted men, but not to exceed $18 a month to 
any one family. The Adjutant General of the Commonwealth re- 
ports that: 

-The quota for Chatham during the Civil war was 232 men, 
under various calls. The town actually furnished 264 men. In 
addition to that, six men served in the navy from Chatham and 
twenty-two were assigned and credited thereto, making a total 
of 292. No doubt a number of Chatham men enlisted in other 
communities and perhaps other states." 

Not all the men referred to were residents of the town. 
Among the residents were the following in Massachusetts volun- 
teer infantry regiments: 
18th regiment, 3 years, Company H: 

Charles H. Lyman, enlisted Aug. 24, 1861; discharged for dis- 
ability Jan. 28, 1863. 
26th regiment, 3 years. Company I: 

Augustus H. Eldredge, who enlisted at New Orleans May 11, 1833, 
and died there September 3d following. 
39th regiment, 3 years, August 1862 to 1865. 
Rev. Edwanl B. French, Chaplain. 

•29 



Company A. 

Alvah Ryder, corporal; discharged for disability November 26, 
1862. 

Benjamin Batchelder, wagoner; transferred September 7, 1862, to 
the Veteran Reserve Corps. 

James Blauvelt, transferred July 9, 1863, to the Veteran Reserve 
Corps. 

Joseph N, Bloomer; discharged for disability March 2, 1863. 

Prince Eldridge, Jr., transferred to the navy April 21, 1864. 

Daniel W. Ellis. 

William A. Gould. 

Nathaniel Smith, discharged for disability June 12, 1863. 

Eric M. Snow, discharged for disability May 26, 1863. 

43d regiment of 9 months' men, from September 20, 1862, to 
July 30, 1863. 

Company E. 

Charles M. Upman, at first sergeant, and then 2d lieutenant; re- 
enlisted in the 58th regiment, becoming captain; killed at Cold Har- 
bor June 3, 1864. 

William H. Harley, sergeant; re-enlisted in the 58th regiment, 
becoming captain; killed at Spotsylvania, Va., May .12, 1864. 

John W. Atwood, sergeant. 

Charles E. Atwood, corporal. 

Francis Brown. 

Benjamin S. Cahoon. 

John W. Crowell. 

Ephraim Eldredge. 

Cyrus Emery. 

Franklin D. Hammond, re-enlisted in the 58th regiment, be- 
coming 2d lieutenant; killed before Petersburg, Va., June 23, 1864. 

James S. Hamilton. 

James T. Hamilton. 

Josiah J. Hamilton. 

David Harding. 

Samuel H. Howes, re-enlisted July 29, 1863, in Company B, 2d 

30 



Heavy Artillery; 1st sergeant; discharged August 23, 1865. 

Charles Johnson, re-enlisted in Company A, 58th regiment. 

Horatio F. Lewis. 

Storrs L. Lyman. 

Andrew S. Mayo. 

Benjamin Rogers. 

Francis B. Rogers. 

Joshua N. Rogers. 

George A. Taylor. 

58th regiment, 3 years, enlisted January, 1864; discharged July, 
1865, on close of the war. Names already referred to not repeated. 

Company A. 

Nathaniel B. Smith, 1st sergeant; killed at Gold Harbor, June 3, 
1864. 

Francis Armstrong, sergeant; died same day of wounds received 
at Cold Harbor, June 1, 1864. 

Pliny Freeman, sergeant. 

George W. Hamilton, sergeant. 

Samuel Hawes, Jr., sergeant; discharged for disability, June 19, 
1865. 

Aaron W. Snow, sergeant. 

Benjamin F. Bassett,* died at Washington on June 24, 1864, of 
wounds received June 3, 1864, presumably at Cold Harbor, 

Charles B. Bearse. 

John Bolton, killed at Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864. 

Joshua H. Chase, discharged for disability, January 27, 1865. 

Zabina Dill, died in Andersonville (Ga.) prison, August 28, 1864. 

Nathan Eldridge, killed at Spotsylvania, May 12. 1864. 

Washington A. Eldridge. 

Stephen Ellis. 

Harrison F. Gould.. 

Josiah F. Hardy. 

Samuel Harding. 
'In official report erroneously credited to Harwich. 

31 



Seth T. Howes, killed in battle of the Wilderness, Va., May 6, 
1864. 

Henry W. Mallows. 

Charles Mullett. 

Edwin S. Nickerson, prisoner at close of war. 

Benjamin F. Pease, discharged for disability, July 1, 1865, 

Bridgeman T. Small. 

Albert E. Snow, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps. 

Zenas M. Snow. 

David G. Young, died in service at Fredericksburg, Ya., May 12, 
1864. 

Company H. 

Francis S. Cahoon. 

Our venerable fellow citizen, David H. Crowell, served in the 
navy as Acting Captain on the Tuscarora on special service from 
November 22, 1861, till his resignation. May 16, 1863. 

POLITICAL. 

The town like the state had supported the Whig party, but on 
the formation of the Republican party, its allegiance was transferred 
to the latter. Fremont in 1856 and Lincoln in 1860 had a majority 
in the town, and in 1861, after the commencement of the war, John 
A. Andrew, Republican, received the entire vote cast for governor. 

In the Constitutional Convention of 1820 the town was represented 
by Gapt. Joseph Young and Capt. Salathiel Nickerson. As delegate 
to the constitutional convention of 1853, S. B. Phinney of Barnstable 
was chosen by a vote of 103 against 97 for Freeman Nickerson of 
Chatham. Why an out-of-town man was chosen does not appear, 
but it is worthy of note that Barnstable sent no delegate. 

CHURCH. 

The question of religious worship could not fail to be in the 
mind of the early settlers. They were not sufficiently numerous to 
support a minister. The nearest church wa^ that of Eastham, its 
meeting house being within the present limits of Orleans. Later a 
church was organized in Harwich, the meeting house neing within 
the present limits of Brewster. During his life William Nickerson 

32 



gave religious instruction to tlie inhabitants. The first resident 
preacher was Jonathan Vickery, who came from Hull in 1697. He 
was not an ordained minister, but a lay preacher. His pay was 
probably about 20 pounds a year besides a supply of hay and wood. 
The first meeting house was built in 1700, though not then entire- 
ly finished, and the men of the village were to take turns in pro- 
curing timber and helping to frame the building, or pay in the 
next rate those who did the work. The building was a small one, 
plain and rough, without a steeple, and without means of heating. 
In the winter, foot-stoves and hot bricks were carried by the wor- 
shippers. There were no pews, but benches on each side of the 
center aisle faced the pulpit, those on one side being occupied by 
the men and those on the other side of the aisle by the women. 
The meeting house stood in the south section of the old cemetery. 
Mr. Vickery was drowned in 1702. Various persons preached for 
short periods until 1711. The longest service was that of the Rev. 
John Latimer, a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1703, 
who was the first educated minister in the place. He remained 
from 1706 to 1708. In 1711 the Rev. Hugh Adams, a graduate of 
Harvard College in the class "of 1697, was employed, and remained 
until he was dismissed in 1715, He had previously been settled for 
a time near Charleston, S. G. His salary was 52 pounds a year 
and a settlement of 100 pounds, payable in two years was given 
him. He was also given a farm south of and near the meeting 
house, and a house was built for him at the cost of 75 pounds. He 
soon, however, became involved in controversy with some of his 
hearers and particularly with Ebenezei' Hawes, who came from Yar- 
mouth about 1705 and remained until about 1720, when he returned 
to Yarmouth. Hawes was a leading man of the place during his 
residence- He kept the tavern and had perhaps been criticized by 
Adams. However that may be, he uttered some language respect- 
ing Mr. Adams, which the latter regarded as slanderous, and he ac- 
cordingly brought suit for damages in the Common Pleas court 
in 1715. The case was tried at Barnstable early in 1716, when the 
verdict was against Adams. He appealed to the Superior Court of 

33 



Judicature. The appeal was heard at Plymouth hefore the cele- 
brated Judge Samuel Sewall, when Adams prevailed and obtained 
10 shillings damages. The papers in this suit are on file with the 
clerk of the Supreme Judicial court in Boston. Among them is a 
paper in behalf of Hawes, signed by 28 men of the town, whose 
names are the following: 

Jonathan Godfrey. William Eldredge, Jr. 

Daniel Sears. Morris Farris. 

William Eldredge. John Eldredge. 

Isaac Hawes (brother of Ebenezer). John Stuard. 

Samuel Tucker. John Collins. 

John Taylor. William Mitchel. 

John Taylor, Jr. i Daniel Hamilton. 

John Atkins. Ebenezer Stuard. 

John Smith. John Ryder. 

Thomas Howes. Joseph Stuard. 

Joseph Eldredge. James Eldredge. 

Robert Paddock. Samuel Taylor. 

Samuel Atkins. Samuel Stuard. 

Richard Sears. David Smith. 

Among them, as appears, are names still current in the town, 
and others that have disappeared from among us. The name of 
Morris Farris is perpetuated in Morris Island, on which he resided. 

Up to this time there was no church organization in the town. 
There were but seven male church members and these belonged to 
the Eastham church, or, in one instance at least, to the Harwich 
church. Before the emigration of 1711 there had been eleven 
male church members. 

In 1719, the Rev. Joseph Lord, a graduate of Harvard College in 
the class of 1691, was employed. He was a learned man, active in 
all the religious controversies of the time. His writings were 
numerous and many of them are preserved. The town agreed to 
give him a salary of 80 pounds a year and the use of a house and 
land. It was also agreed that he should have a settlement of 100 
pounds to be paid in foiir years. It is a coincidence that he, as 

84 



well as Mr. Adams, had been settled for a time in South Carolina. 
Mr. Lord's location was Dorchester, not very far from Charleston. 
He came in 1720, established the first church organization and 
served the town till his death in 1748. He was buried in the 
south section of the old burying ground. In 1729 a new meeting 
house was built, which, with additions, served the purposes of the 
congregation for about a century. It faced the south nearly op- 
posite the road that leads from the old burying ground to West 
Chatham, and after the additions consisted of a central portion and 
two wings. At its back was the north section of the old burying 
ground. It had no steeple and at first no pews, except one for the 
minister's wife. Ten years later, in 1739, an order was made in 
town meeting for space to be laid out for a certain number of 
pews, and that they should be sold for an aggregate of 100 pounds. 
In 1742, they were sold to the following persons: 
Thomas Doane. John Nickerson. 

John Collins. Joshua Atkins. 

Ensign William Nickerson. William Nickerson, 4th. 

John Covel. Maziah Harding. 

Jonathan Godfrey, 
In 1748, after the death of Mr. Lord, the Rev. Stephen Emery, a 
graduate of Harvard College in the class, of 1730, was employed. 
The town voted him an annual salary of 480 pounds old tenor, 
reckoning silver at 52 shillings per ounce, or 400 pounds with wood. 
He was also to receive a settlement of 800 pounds to be paid in two 
years. Mr Emery served the town until his death in 1782. His 
descendants are in the town to this day. He was buried in the 
north section of the old burying ground, where an' inscription to his 
memory may still be seen. 

In 1773, it was voted "to repair the meeting house and enlarge 
it, the men's and women's seats to front the pulpit after enlarging, 
and to take up some hindermost seats and substitute pews." In 
1774 the sum of 40 pounds was raised for that purpose. 

The Rev. Mr. Thomas Roby, a graduate of Harvard College in 
the class of 1779, .succeeded Mr. Emery in 17H3, and preached until 



his resignation in 1795. The Rev. Ephraim Briggs, also a graduate 
of Harvard College, class of 1791, follovv^ed in 1796, and served until 
his death in 1816. His salary was fixed at 85 pounds a year besides 
wood and hay and the use of the parsonage. He also had a settle- 
ment of 230 pounds. In 1812 the town voted to repair the meet- 
ing house and increase the number of pews. 

The next incumbent (and the last one while the church re- 
mained a town affair) and the last who preached in the old build- 
ing, was the Rev. Stetson Raymond, a graduate of Brown University 
in the class of 18l4. He served from 1817 to 1829, when he was 
dismissed. His salary was $650 per year, with the use of the par- 
sonage. The society at a meeting May 27, 1830, voted to build a 
new meeting house. The old structure was sold and in 1831 was 
taken down. The new one was built in the lot now occupied by 
the Congregational cemetery and stood on rising ground some dis- 
tance back of the main road. The parsonage was built west of the 
church in a lot fenced off from the cemetery. It was destroyed by 
fire with the church records in 1861. The new church was re- 
moved to its present site in 1866. 

During the early history of the town the inhabitants were 
nearly all adherents of the Congregational church. The church was 
a town affair, and it was supported by taxes raised in town meet- 
ing. Very early, however, there were some Quakers in the town 
who objected to being taxed for the support of the church, and in 
1732 Paul Crowell was sent to Barnstable to see if Quakers were 
free of ministerial taxes, with what result does not appear. Some- 
what later a sect arose called "Separatists," which had an organi- 
zation in Harwich under the leadership of Joshua Nickerson and 
some adherents in Chatham. This sect, for the most part, became 
merged in the Baptists. The question of taxing these people was 
raised in town meeting in 1755, and the vote was that they should 
not be excused from church taxes. It was, however, soon decided 
that persons belonging to other church organizations and con- 
tributing to their support, should not be compelled to pay minis- 
terial taxes. In 1759 there was recorded in the town book a cev- 

ao 



tificate that Nathaniel Bassett was a Baptist. Beginning a little 
before 1800 and continuing for some years after, the town records 
contain many certificates that various persons had become m.em- 
bers of the Methodist, Baptist or Universalist societies and con- 
tributed to their support. At first the Methodists and Baptists 
belonged to societies in Harwich, but later Chatham societies were 
formed. The Methodist society was formed in 1816, the Universal- 
ist in 1822, and the Baptist in 1824. A Methodist church and par- 
sonage were built near the Methodist cemetery about 1812 and the 
present ones about 1850. In 1823 a Universalist church was erected 
near the cemetery of that denomination. In 1850 a second one was 
built on the site of the academy. This was burned in 1875 and in 
1879 the present one was erected. A Baptist church was built in 
1827 near the Baptist cemetery, which was later removed to the Old 
Harbor road. When the Baptist society ceased to exist the church 
was sold to the Masonic lodge. 

In 1820 the town raised $680 to pay Mr. Raymond's salary for the 
year. In the report of the town meeting held August 9, 1824, is 
the following entry: 

"The town voted not to raise $500 for Mr. Stetson Raymond. 
Then the hearers of Mr. Raymond' voted to raise $500 for his 
support this year." 

This ended the connection of the town as such with the Congre- 
gational church. 

About 1850 a religious movement was started in Chatham, sim- 
ilar to the Separatist movement of a century before, which to some 
extent affected the adjoining towns. Its central idea was that the 
churches had become too formal and worldly and had drifted 
away from the simplicity of the gospel. The followers of this 
movement did not believe in a specially set-apart ministry, laid 
down no creed, and emphasized the relations of the individual with 
the deity. Their worship consisted of exhortation, singing and 
prayer, in which all the members, including the women, were en- 
couraged to join. Because most of the members had come out 
from the churches, they were commonly called "Comeouters." Seth 

37 



Nickerson was the best-known leader. With Elisha Eldridge, David 
Harding, Doane Kendrick and others, he headed a division which (for 
a number of years) like the Quakers, practiced avoidance of colors 
and extreme simplicity in dress, house-furnishings, etc. Another 
division, more liberal In dress and outward forms, of which Whit- 
man Bassett, Jabez Growell (of East Harwich) and .James Hawes 
were leading members, worshipped for a number of years in a sm-all 
meeting house in West Chatham, erected on the south side of the 
main road, a little east of the point where the road to East Har- 
wich branches off. Not long after 1860, with the death of the 
principal members, the movement died out in Chatham. 

TOWN HOUSE. 

Town meetings were held in the old meeting house until it 
was taken down, the last meeting there being held in November, 
1831. In February, 1832, the meeting was held in the Methodist 
meeting house. After that they were held successively in the Bap- 
tist and Universalist meeting houses until 1838. November 11, 1838, 
they met in Academy Hall. In January, 1851, the town meeting was 
held in the "New Academy Hall," by which must have been meant 
Granville Seminary. February 3, 1851, the people voted to build a 
town house by the following November. It was erected on the site 
of the old Methodist church near the Methodist cemetery. The 
first town meeting held in it met November 10, 1851. In 1877 the 
present town hall was erected. 

EDUCATION. 

The early settlers were not uninterested in the education of their 
children, especially the boys, but their circumstances forbade the 
establishment of schools. Parents gave instruction to their chil- 
dren, and, no doubt, in the case of illiterate parents, neighbors 
capable of doing so took their children with their own. It is re- 
markable that the children and grandchildren of the immigrants 
received as much education as they did. As soon as it was able to 
do so, the town took measures for the more systematic instruct- 
tion of its youth. It is quite likely that before 1720 a schoolmistress 
had been employed, which was not in accv)nlanc(i with the Provin- 

38 



cial requiremont, for in 1722 an agent was appointed to petition the 
General Court "to consider the low estate of the town and exempt 
it from fine for keeping only a school-dame." 

In 1721, however, Samuel Stewart had been appointed school- 
master, and for his services received ten pounds. For several years 
thereafter Daniel Legg was schoolmaster. In 1723 the year was 
divided into six parts, school to be held at houses in various sec- 
tions of the town, the master boarding around. Various teachers 
at different times followed Mr. Legg. In 1768 the town was divided 
into four sections: Capt. Joseph Doane and Seth Smith to get a 
teacher for the N. E. section; George Godfrey and Joseph Atwood 
for the S. E.; John Hawes and Samuel Taylor for the S. W., and 
Paul Growell and Barnabas Eldredge for the N. W. section. School- 
houses were not built till after 1790. In 1800 the town was divided 
into five districts, with a schoolhouse in each. Later there were 13 
districts and schoolhouses. Under the district system, the districts 
had agents chosen in district meetings. Toward the expenses, the 
town contributed a certain sum, and the rest was raised by district 
tax proportioned among the heads of families according to the num- 
ber of children in each attending school. The schools were wholly 
ungraded, and in the winter term were attended by pupils of 
various ages from the child learning the alphabet to the young 
man of 20, home from sea, struggling with Bowditch's Navigator. 
There were also private navigation schools kept by individuals for 
young men aspiring to command on the sea. 

In 1820 there were seven district schools and the town raised 
.$40 for each district. In 1824 the sum of $400 was raised for 
schools, and in 1851, $1400. 

After a long struggle by a few enlightened citizens, the town 
adopted a graded system and erected the high school in 1858, the 
opening of which inaugurated a new era in the educational history 
of the town. The question of a grammar school, that is, a school 
where Latin should be taught, was quite early raised, the Provin- 
cial law requiring towns of 100 families to employ a master 
capable of teaching "(lie tongues." 

39 



In 1776 the town voted not to hire a grammar school teacher 
for the present. In 1779 an agent was appointed "to get a school- 
master of the Gramer Tongue to keep a school in our town." 
But it does not appear that one was employed. Private enterprise 
about 1830 provided an academy with a building on the high ground 
near the residence of the late Seth Taylor. Joseph W. Cross, a 
graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1828, was the first 
teacher. He became a minister and died in 1906 at the age of 98, 
then the oldest living graduate of Harvard. It was his son, Joseph 
W. Cross, Jr., of whom some of us have a grateful recollection as 
the first principal of the high school. This academy failed for 
want of patronage and the building was removed about 1850. After 
it closed and about 1850, Joshua G. Nickerson opened an institution 
on the Old Harbor road, called the "Granville Seminary," which 
did not long continue its educational work. 

Prior to 1860, books were few except bibles and religious works. 
In 1875 the Free Pilgrim library was established in South Chatham, 
which now has between 900 and 1000 volumes. A library associa- 
tion was formed in the village in 1887, which in 1881) presented its 
640 volumes to the town. The public need was not adequately met, 
however, until the founding of the Eldridge library by the Hon. 
Marcellus Eldridge, which was opened in 1896. 

It should be remarked that the early backwardness of the town 
in higher education and the comparatively small number of college 
graduates it has had are to be explained by the seafaring habits 
of the people, which kept its young men from home and from 
surroundings that would naturally lead their thoughts towards let- 
ters and study. 

Joseph Lord, son of the Rev. Joseph Lord, graduated at Har- 
vard college in 1726, after his father settled in Chatham. 

The first native of the town to receive a college education, so 
far as I can learn, was Samuel- Emery, son of the Rev. Stephen 
Emery, born 1751. He graduated at Harvard in 1774 and received 
the degree of A. M. from Yale College in 1781. He married Mary, 
daughter of Nathaniel Appletan of Boston, and died in 1838. I know 

40 



of no other native of the town who went to college until after the 
lapse of about ninety years. In 1865 another descendant of the Rev. 
Stephen Emery, John A. Emery, son of John, graduated at Am- 
herst College. He was not a pupil of the high school, but was a 
student in the Bridgowater State Normal school in 1854. He 
settled as a lawyer at Pittsburgh, Pa., and practised his profession 
with credit to himself and his native town until his death in 1900. 
Nathaniel B. Smith in 1861 went from the high school to Amherst 
College. He was not able to continue his studies, entered mercan- 
tile life in Boston, but soon enlisted in the war and fell lamented 
in 1864 in the battle of Gold Harbor. Galen B. Danforth is re- 
ferred to below. Besides those mentioned elsewhere, Joshua G. 
Nickerson in 1845 and Freeman Nickerson in 1846 were students of 
the Bridgewater Normal school. They were teachers for a number 
of years. 

PHYSICIANS. 
In the earliest years of the town there was no resident 
physician. In sickness the people depended upon the matrons of 
the village with their herb gardens. Later the minister generally 
had some knowledge of medicine and dentistry. The first physician 
of the town was Dr. Samuel Lord. After him the nearest physician 
was Dr. Joseph Seabury of Orleans (then Eastham), who died in 
1800. His son. Dr. John Seabury, settled in this town about 1815 
and practised here for fifteen years, when he moved away. He 
resided in the large house just west of the parsonage. His nephew. 
Dr. Benjamin F. Seabury, who practised in Orleans from 1837 to 
1890, was much resorted to by Chatham patients, as was also Dr. 
Samuel H. Gould, who practised in Brewster from 1844 to 1882. Dr. 
Greenleaf J. Pratt, who practised in Harwich from about 1815 till 
1858, and Dr. Franklin Dodge, who practised there from 1838 till 
1872, also had many Chatham patients. Dr. Daniel P. Clifford set- 
tled in Chatham about 1810, married Betsey Emery, granddaughter 
of Rev. Stephen Emery, and practised his profession until his 
death in 1863. He lived on the north road a little east of the 
East Harwirh meeting house. Dr. Elijah W. Gari)enter graduated 

41 



at the Harvard Medical school in 1837 and immediately came here. 
He married Mary H., daughter of Joshua Nickerson, and success- 
fully practised here till a few years before his death in 1881. His 
eldest daughter married Edwin F. Knowlton, a wealthy straw goods 
manufacturer who resided in Brooklyn, N. Y. Their daughter 
Mary married Count Johannes von Francken Sierstorpff, of Ger- 
many. They entertained the German Emperor on Thanksgiving 
day, 1911, at their Castle Zyrowa, Silesia. So a descendant of the 
Norwich weaver who founded this town was hostess of a monarch, 
in some respects the most powerful of the present time. She had 
evidently not forgotten her origin, for she set before him the 
traditional New England dishes of the day. Dr. Nathaniel B. Dan- 
forth came soon after 1840, married here in 1845, Elouisa S. Martin, 
and died in 1864. He continued to practise until his death. His 
son, Galen B. Danforth, was a pupil of the high school under Mr. 
Cross, and went from there to Amherst College, where he gradu- 
ated in 1867. He then studied medicine in Germany and Edinburgh, 
and went as a medical missionary to Tripoli, Syria, where he died 
in 1875 at the early age of 28 years. Dr. N. P. Brownell was 
another physician settled here before 1860. The second native of 
the town to become a physician was Erastus Emery, son of John 
Emery. He was a pupil of the high school, a graduate of the Har- 
vard Medical school in 1869, practised in Truro and died at an early 
age in 1878. The first dentist in town was the late Dr. Joseph 
Atwood. He was followed by Dr. Sylvanus H. Taylor. 

LAWYERS. 
There were no resident members of the bar here until very 
recent years. The drawing of deeds and wills and the probate 
business were done by laymen. Joseph Doane, Squire Sears and 
Deacon John Hawes were among those in earlier years. During my 
boyhood and later, Warren Rogers was the most active in this way. 
The early ministers were frequently called in for this service; the 
Rev. Joseph Lord drew many legal papers in his time. Simeon N. 
Small, a native of this town, became a member of the bar and 
practised law in Yarmouth before 1860, when he went to Milwaukee, 

42 



Wisconsin, where he practised until his death in 1875 Before he 
left the Cape he had been judge of the Court of Insolvency. 
CHATHAM MEN IN OTHER PLACES." 
Some Chatham men who have had honorable careers in other 
places may be named. David Sears, born in 1762, was he son of 
Daniel Sears. After his father's death h,s mother m "6^ jn^"'^^ 
Samuel Ballard of Boston and took David w.th her Ih^''^- "« 
became a merchant and died in 1816 the richest man « J-^^^ 
He is the ancestor of the wealthy and promment Sear, family m 
B:ston. His son David about 1848 erected the Sears monumen 
standing in the old burying ground here. Mention may be made 
here of David's elder brother. Richard, who continued to reside m 
this town and was long known as Squire Sears. He resided and 
kept a store in the old Sears House, was Justice of the peace and 
Z town's representative in the General Court for -ny years In 
1804 he was a member of the state Senate. «« "-ed u. 1839 a the 
age of 90. His wife, a native of Framingham, died in 1852 at the 

"""a'JL Hardy was born in 1815. the son of '-- ".f >', "j; 
studied for a time at Phillips Andover A"*"^""'^ ''"'''' /^^ 
compelled him to desist. Before his majority he ^t*;;" '^^;^_ 
ness for himself in Boston and became one of the most piom 

inent men in the shipping and ^"^^^^'"'^.Z ZZZ- 
ident of a Boston bank and of a Michigan '^"' ' 
upon the death of Joshua Sears, a native of ;»™'""'; J*'^: 
Hardy became the managing trustee of h,s estate, then the largest 
in Boston, and guardian of his son, Joshua ''"-^"'"^J^^f^J^'i 
He was L member of the state senate in 1861, and a ^'™"8 «"P 
portr of the Union during the war. His business cares did not 
pr v"nt him from being a leader in religions and chantble wok. 
He was for many years a trastee of Amherst College and ol An- 
"ovel Theological Seminary. He was a bountiful giver. He died 

l-,t has been my purpose not to ^^t'™ ''j;'"\„,f;°m be 
any part of this address except in a few instances 
regarded as justifiable.! 

4S 



in 1887. His brother, Isaac Hardy, in copartnership with George 
Ryder (a former sea captain), son of Stephen Ryder of this town, 
was long a prominent ship chandler in Boston. 

The successful career of Heman and Joshua Eldridge, former 
sea captains, in Portsmouth, N. H., is well known. 

David Godfrey, father of George Godfrey so well known in this 
town, after having been a sea captain and officer on a privateer 
in the war of 1812, promoted a line of packets between Boston 
and New York, and settled in the latter city about 1830, contin- 
uing in successful business until his death in 1845. Mulford 
Howes, who had also been a sea captain and who spent his de- 
clining years in his native town, was associated with hira. Later 
Isaac B. Atwood was an active business man in New York, and 
James A. Stetson represented the town w^ell in New York and 
Gloucester in the fish business. 

John W. Atwood, son of John Atwood, was born in this town 
in 1822 and in 1846 was a student in the Bridgewater Normal 
school. He was a member of the state Senate in 1857 and 1859. 
In 1858 he was a member of the House of Representatives. He 
served for nine months as sergeant in the 43rd Mass. Volunteers 
in 1862 and 1863. Afterwards he engaged in the coal business in 
Jersey City, N. J., but later became the successful and valued 
principal of one of the public schools there, continuing until ill 
health compelled him to retire. He died in 1883 and is buried in 
the Congregational cemetery in this town. 

Benjamin F. Hawes, son of Thomas Hawes, at the time of his 
early death had established a large business in New York in the 
manufacture and sale of hats. 

Simeon Ryder, a son of Stephen • and brother of the Stephen 
Ryder who lived and kept a mill on the North road west of the 
old burying ground, was at first a sea captain. He afterwards 
engaged in successful business in New York and later in Alton, 
HI., where he died in 1877, aged 82. He projected the Terre Haute 
and Alton railroad, was the leader in its construction and became 
its first president. 

44 



Benjamin Godfrey, a native of tliis town, was also first a sea 
captain. He afterwards engaged in business in Matamoros, Mexico, 
and in New Orleans, where he amassed a considerable fortune. 
From New Orleans he went to Alton, 111., where he established the 
wholesale house of Godfrey & Gilman. He projected and built the 
Alton and Sangamon railroad, of which he was the president. 
He built and presented a church to the society with which he 
worshipped, and he founded the Monticello Female Seminary at 
Godfrey, a town named for him adjoining Alton. When on No- 
vember 7, 1837, Elijah T. Lovejoy, the early abolitionist and 
brother of Owen Lovejoy, was killed by a mob who had attacked 
the establishment where he printed his paper, the "Observer," it 
was in the storehouse of Godfrey & Gilman that Lovejoy's press 
was placed for safe-keeping. Mr. Godfrey died in 1862. 

Samuel M, Nickerson carried the Chatham energy and business 
judgment to Chicago, where he was for twenty years president of 
the First National bank. 

David Smith, a former sea captain, son of Stephen, established 
the business of ice manufacture in Honolulu, and in Washington, 
D. C. 

If the record of Chatham men who have moved away could be 
traced, the influence that they and their descendants have had on 
widely distant communities would be found to be much greater 
than is imagined. To illustrate this, I will give two instances 
that have come within my knowledge. Isaac Hawes went from 
this town before the Revolution and finally settled in Kent, in 
western Connecticut. Two of his grandsons. Rev. Josiah Hawes 
and Rev. Prince Hawes, were graduates of Williams College, in 
1800 and 1805 respectively, and were influential preachers. A third 
grandson, Lowman Hawes, graduated at Yale College in 1814, and 
became a prominent lawyer in Maysville, Ky. Two sons of Levi 
Eldredge, already spoken of as . a soldier in the war of 1812, Rev. 
Increase and Rev. Levi Eldredge, were ministers of the Christian 
denomination and preached in several states for many years. 

45 



CALAMITIES. 

The town has not been free from tragic events. In the fall 
of 1765 an epidemic of smallpox broke out in this town, and be- 
tween November 23, 1765, and May, 1766, thirty-seven persons died, 
and twenty-four had the disease and recovered, so that over sixty 
per cent, of those attacked died. The cases numbered nine per 
cent, of the population. Among the deaths was that of Dr. Samuel 
Lord, already referred to as the first physician settled in the town. 
He fell a martyr to his professional duty, as so many physicians 
had before and have since. This disease, which modern science 
has robbed of its terrors, was rendered so fatal by lack of medical 
assistance and the ignorance of its proper treatment then preva- 
lent in the profession. In addition to this visitation, many of 
the inhabitants during the same period were visited with a griev- 
ous fever, whereof divers adult persons died and several families 
lay sick a long time. 

In November, 1772, Captain Joseph Doane found back of the 
Cape, a schooner having aboard dead. Captain Thomas Nickerson, 
Elisha Newcomb and William Kent, Jr. The decks were bloody 
and the chests open and plundered. One man was found aboard 
alive. He stated that the day before they had been attacked by a 
pirate, the men killed and a boy carried off. The survivor had 
concealed himself. Search was made for the pirate ship, but none 
was found. The survivor was tried in the Admiralty court in 
Boston and after two trials acquitted. The mystery has never been 
solved. 

In 1786 occurred one of the many tragedies of the sea. that have 
brought sorrow to the town. A schooner belonging to New Haven 
bound for the Banks, was lost with her crew of Chatham men. A 
chest and some other articles belonging to her were found and 
brought home by fishermen. The event has been transmitted to 
us through some verses written about the time by Isaiah Young. 
The men lost were Captain Sylvanus Nickerson, Mr. Nathaniel 
Young, Mr Christopher Taylor, Seth Eldridge, Adam Wing, Joseph 

46 



Buck, Nehemiah Nickepson, Stephen Eldridge, Barzillai Nickerson 
and Seth Dunbar. 

EMIGRATION. 

All through the history of the town there have, of course, 
been removals of individual citizens to other localities, and since 
1860 they have been particularly numerous, but there have ben 
four movements that may properly be termed "emigrations." The 
first one occurred in 1711, when thirteen men with their families 
went to Duck Creek in Delaware, and eleven men with their fam- 
ilies went to other towns. The second emigration was to a region 
known as the "Oblong," which was a strip of land in eastern 
New York, along the Connecticut border now mostly included in 
Putnam County, N. Y. This took place about 1740. A third emi- 
gration, about 1760, took place to Nova Scotia, and a fourth, about 
1800, to a region now in the state of Maine, known as the "Ken- 
nebec Country." These emigrations were shared in by other towns 
on the Cape: 

POPULATION. 
According to the various censuses that have been taken of the 
town, the population has been as follows: 

Year. Population. Year. Population. 

1765 678 1860 2,710 

1776 929 1865 2,624 

1790 1,140 1870 2,411 

1800 1,351 1875 2,274 

1810 1,334 1880 2,250 

1820 1,630 1885 2,028 

1830 2,130 1890 1,954 

1840 2,334 1895 - 1,809 

1850 2,439 1900 1,749 

1855 2,560 1905 1,634 

1910 1,564 

In 1765 there were 105 houses and 127 families; in 1801 the 

number of dwellings was 158, of which four only were of two 

stories. Two of those four were probably those on the North road 

west of the old burying ground, the easternmost of which was 

47 



the parsonage and the other a little later the dwelling of Dr. 
John Seabury. The other two were perhaps that of Josiah Ryder 
north of the main road in West Chatham, later owned by David 
Nye Nickerson, and that of Richard Sears, Jr., on the site of the 
Eldredge library, occupied in his lifetime by Dr. Carpenter. Capt. 
Joseph Atwood, father of Dr. Atwood, built the similar house now 
standing, in 1812. The three last mentioned were the most expen- 
sive houses in the town at that time and much admired. 

The population increased steadily from 1765 to 1860, except be- 
tween 1800 and 1810 when there was a slight falling off, and, since 
1860, it has steadily decreased, being in 1910 less that it was in 
1820. . 

This decrease in the population has been due in part to causes 
that have produced here the falling off in maritime enterprises, and 
in part to those general causes that have produced, throughout the 
western world in the last fifty years, a general tendency of popu- 
lation from the rural districts to the cities. But, while the pop- 
ulation of the town has decreased, its wealth has increased. The 
valuation returned by the assesors in 1850 was $513,000; in 1860, 
$957,430; and in 1912, $1,335,560. It is undoubtedly true that not 
only the necessities and comforts of life are as well ministered to 
as ever, but that all those things that tend toward intellectual de- 
velopment, toward the broadening of the individual and the raising 
him above the level of a mere animal existence, were never so 
generally distributed. 

More than a hundred years ago the merits of the Cape as a 
health resort were known. It has, however, only been in compar- 
atively recent years that increasing numbers of summer guests 
have visited Chatham and found health and pleasure in its salt air 
and cool breezes and in its wonderful facilities for boating and 
fishing. The benefits have not all been on one side. The town 
has profited in its turn and much of its present prosperity is due 
to these welcome visitors. 

48 



EARLY CONDITIONS. 
The first occupation of the inhabitants was agriculture. They 
raised good crops of corn and rye, and also produced some wheat, 
flax and tobacco. Hay from the salt marshes was abundant. A 
petition to the General Court drawn by the Rev. Hugh Adams, in 
1711, states of the place, that it is fertile for all sorts of pro- 
visions and for good wheat especially, it being generally the best 
land of any town on the whole Cape, and "it has the most pleas- 
ant situation and incomparable conveniency for most sorts of fish- 
ery." The cattle ran at large on the common lands; cattle marks 
were recorded in the town records. Sheep raising was an impor- 
tant industry, the wool being required for home use. Not long 
after 1860 the flocks had disappeared. Perhaps the last ones were 
kept by Samuel Hawes, grandfather of Sergeant Hawes, and by 
Rufus Smith and Samuel D. Clifford. Subsistence was not hard to 
obtain. The waters were full of fish. The shores abounded in 
clams, quahaugs and oysters. Scallops were not esteemed. Lob- 
sters were abundant. Deer and other game roamed the woods, and 
sea fowl were plentiful. Beachplums, wild grapes and cranberries 
and other berries abounded. The question of the right of non- 
residents to take clams, which has agitated the people in modern 
times, was early presented. In 1768 the town voted against allow- 
ing strangers to take clams and again in 1771 measures were taken 
against non-residents, on the ground that the destruction of the 
bivalve was threatened. The chief use then was as bait when 
salted. Upon the settlement of the town the region was covered 
with pine forests, not without some oak, and in the swamps there 
was a considerable supply of cedar. The forests, no doubt, sup- 
plied the timber for the first houses, and considerable tar was 
made in the early years. These uses, the demand for fuel and 
the clearings for agriculture and residence rapidly depleted the 
forests. In 1802, not over 65 acres of woodland were left, near 
the Harwich border. About 50 or 60 years ago the planting of 
trees was commenced and much old land has been restored to for- 
est. One effect of cutting off the wood was the blowing away of 

49 



the light soil in places by the high winds from the sea. The 
southerly and easterly slopes of the Great Hill suffered especially. 
In 1821 the sum of $200 was raised by the town in an attempt to 
stop the sand from blowing off this hill, and a committee headed 
by Capt. Joseph Young was appointed to oversee the work. Beach 
grass was transplanted to the locality to hold the sand, and when 
this was rooted, pines were planted. A few years before 1800 a 
beginning was made of the digging of peat from the swamps and 
its preparation for fuel. In the years before 1860 a considerable 
business was done, mostly in West Chatham, in the preparation 
and sale of this article. But about this time coal became more 
common, and cranberry culture invaded the town and took posses- 
sion of the swamps. 

FISHERIES. 
Whaling was carried on during the early history of the town. 
The whales used then to come m near the shore, whale-boats 
were kept, and a lookout employed to give the alarm. As early 
as 1690 William Nickerson, son of the founder, was appointed in- 
spector of whaled. In 1775, at the outbreak of the Revolutionary 
war, the whale-boats were ordered to be concealed. In the earli- 
est years dead whales not unfrequently came ashore. Cod and 
mackerel fishing and the mercantile marine became the chief indus- 
tries of the town. In 1711 a sloop belonging to the village was 
chased by the French. The town records show that in 1723 Samuel 
Stewart, the schoolmaster, was at sea, probably on a lishing voy- 
age. By 1740 seafaring had become the prevalent occupation of 
the men of the town. In 1774, Chatham had 27 vessels of about 
30 tons each engaged in the cod fishery, employing 240 men, and 
having an average annual catch of 12,000 quintals. The Revolution- 
ary war nearly destroyed the business, and in 1783 there were only 
four or five vessels afloat. In 1802 about 25 vessels belonging to 
the town were so employed. A writer in 1791 speaks of 40 ves- 
sels, but this number must have included those from other towns 
which cured their fish here. In 1837, 22 vessels of the town 
were employed in the cod and mackerel fishery, the catch being 

50 



15,500 quintals of cod worth $46,500, and 1200 barrels of mackerel 
worth $9,600. In 1865 the catch of cod was 25,361 quintals, benig 
the largest catch of any town on the Gape except Provincetown. 
The last mentioned figure no doubt included the shore fishery. 
The business of curing or "making" the fish, as the term was 
was important in the closing years of the 18th and the fir„st half 
of the 19th century. Numerous flakes lined the shores of the 
bays In 1840, 240 barrels of mackerel were inspected in the town; 
in 1854 3,000; in 1864, 6,746; and in 1874, 10,765. In the later years 
the catch was largely in the weirs that had been established near 
Monomoy Point and in Chatham bay. 

No complete list of the fishing captains can be given. Among 
those whose service was about 1850 or earlier were: 
Nathan Buck, Pavid Harding, 

Hezekiah Doane, Samuel Ryder, 

Kimball Eldridge, Elijah Smith and 

James Taylor. 
The following were later in service: 
David T. Bassett, David W. Hammond, 

Henry Bassett, Elisha Hammond, 

Whitman Bassett, ■ Isaac L. Hammond, 

Alonzo Bearse. ^ebedee Hammond, 

John Burchell, Nathaniel T. Hawes, 

John G. Doane, Thomas Hawses, 

Amos K. Eldridge, Stephen H. Howes, 

BarziUai B. Eldridge, John Ireland, 

Gyreijus Eldridge, I^oane Kendrick, 

Elisha Eldridge, R'^^iben C. Kenny, 

Oren Eldridge, Isaiah Long, 

Samuel W. Eldridge, Hira Nickerson, 

Stephen T. Eldridge, Mulford Rogers and 

Benjamin F. Freeman, Charles E. hmalley. 

COMMERCIAL MARINE. 
Chatham men, as has been stated, had been employed in com- 
mercial voyages before 1800, but after the war of 1812 the mercan- 
tile marin^ of the country increased rapidly until I860, and among 
the captains who carried our flag into every port from Archangel 
on the northern ocean to Sydney on the southern sea, Chatham 

51 



men were conspicuous. They were especially employed in the 
lines that ran between Boston, Charleston and Savannah and in the 
trade between Boston and Mediterranean ports. The vessels were 
largely owned here and sailed by the captains on shares, although 
some were employed on wages. Co-operation was in vogue. A 
young man who felt himself competent to command a vessel would 
arrange for a vessel to be built for him. He would take a share, 
his friends at home would subscribe for part in 16ths, 32nds or 
64ths, and the remainder would be taken by the East Boston ship- 
builder. In connection with this business two local insurance com- 
panies were in existence before 1860. 

Upt)n the outbreak of the Civil war, this great interest rapidly 
declined. The Alabama and other Confederate cruisers captured 
many Chatham vessels or drove them to come under the British 
flag, and the increase of the use of steam over sail, carrying 
with it, as it did in many cases, the transfer of the home port 
from Boston to New York, aided the decline. When sailing vessels 
were employed and the home port was Boston, opportunity was 
afforded for considerable visits at not too long intervals by the 
crews to their families here. Vessels on their way between Bos- 
ton and the south would often anchor in Chatham bay ("imder the 
Neck" it was termed) and the crews would thus have an oppor- 
tunity of visiting their liomes. But steam craft gave too short 
shore leave for that purpose, especially if the home port were 
more remote than Boston. The result was the removal of fam- 
ilies from the town to the vicinity of Boston or New York. 
During the period of marine activity small vessels wore run from 
the town to New York, New London and New Bedford. 

The captains in the merchant service were numerous. It would 
be impossible to give a full list. Among the earlier ones were: 
Joshua Atkins, Collins Kendrick, 

Joseph Atwood, Nathaniel Kendrick, 

James Crowell, Paul Mayo, 

Samuel Davis, Alexander Nickerson, 

Thomas Dodge, Joshua Nickerson, 

Abner Eldridge, Moses Nickerson, 

52 



Zephaniah Eldridge, 
Joseph Emery, 
Samuel Emery, 
Edmund Flinn, 
John Flinn, 
William Flinn, 
James Harding, 
Prince Harding, 
Seth Harding, 
Sparrow Harding, 
James Hawes, 
Samuel Hawes, 
William Howes, 



Seth Nickerson, 
Zenas Nickerson, 
Elisha Ryder, 
George Ryder, 
Joseph Ryder, 
Josiah Ryder, 
Richard Ryder, 
Seth Ryder, 
Richard Sears, Jr., 
Reuben G. Smith, 
Christopher Taylor, 
John Taylor, 
Joshua Taylor, 
Seth Taylor. 



Among those whose service was chiefly between 1850 and 1870 



were: 



Joshua Atkins, Jr., 
Joseph Atkins, 
Ira Buck, 
Luther Buck, 
Benjamin Clifford, 
William Clifford, 
Elijah Crosby, 
Isaac Crosby, 
David H. Crowell, 
John Crowell, 
A. Judson Doane, 

Samuel H. Doane, 

Alfred Eldridge, 

Gideon Eldridge, 

Henry Eldridge, 

Jonathan Eldridge, 

Luther Eldridge, 

David Gould, 

Charles Hamilton, 

David Hamilton, 

Sylvester Hamilton, 

Archelaus Harding, 

David J. Harding, 

Elisha Harding, 

Hiram Harding, Sr and Jr., 



Franklin Howes, 
George W. Howes, 
Solomon Howes, 
Gershom Jones, 
Elijah Loveland, 
Winslow Loveland, 
David E. Mayo, 
Hezekiah Mayo, 
Lorenzo Mayo, 
Alexander Nickerson, Jr. 
David N. Nickerson, 
George Nickerson, 

Kingsbury Nickerson, 

Solomon Nickerson, 

Starks W. Nickerson, 

Zenas Nickerson, Jr. 

John Paine, 

Christopher Smith, 

Ephraim Smith, 

Levi D. Smith, 

Reuben C. Smith, Jr., 

Richard Smith, 

Thomas Sparrow, 

Hiram Taylor, 

James Taylor, 



53 



Joseph Harding, John Taylor, Jr., ' 

Joshua Harding, Joshua Taylor, Jr., 

Nathan A. Harding, Levi Taylor, 

Oren Harding, Moses Taylor, 

Josiah Hardy, - Reuben C. Taylor, 

Reuben C. Hawes, Richard Taylor, 

Alfred Howes, Simeon Taylor, 

Daniel H, Howes, Charles White. 

To these should be added Charles Rockwell, who became an 
admiral in the navy. 

MANUFACTURING. 
Prior to 1860 and particularly early in the 19th century, ship- 
building was carried on to some extent, small vessels being turned 
out of the works. In 1845 six vessels were built and in 1855 
fifteen. The business of making salt by the evaporation of sea 
water was early established here. Extensive shallow vats were 
built along the shores of the bays, equipped with movable roofs 
so that they could be covered on the approach of rain. The water 
was pumped into them by windmills. The last works that were 
operated were those of Jesse Nickerson oii the neck where the 
hotel Chatham stood. These were closed about 1886. In 1802 there 
were six salt works in the town; in 1837, 80, producing annually 
27,400 bushels, worth $8,220; in 1845, 54, producing 18,000 bushels; 
and in 1855, 14, producing 3,300 bushels. The industry ceased to 
pay and began to decline when duties on salt were lowered, when 
the state bounty was removed, when salt springs in New York and 
elsewhere in the country came to be developed, and when the price 
of pine lumber necessary in the construction of the works rose to 
a high level. General manufacturing was never carried on here to 
any extent. About 1800, however, there was a rope walk in the 
northern part of the town and a tannery at the Old Harbor, which 
was closed about 1830. About 1840 there was a carding machine 
in the neighborhood of the late Reuben Young. Windm.ills until 
comparatively recent years were used for the grinding of grain. 
About 1800 there were six of these in the town. Between 1850 
and 1800 there were nine, two in South Chatham, one kept by 
Ezekiel Young, one near the Oyster pond, one on the Stage Harbor 

54 



road kept by Christopher Taylor and later by Oliver, Eldredge and 
Zenas Nickerson (the last one operated in the town), one near the 
Lights, one at the Old Harbor and one at Chathamport. 

STORES. 

Among the early stores, mostly for the sale of general mer- 
chandise, were those of Ezra Crowell, known as "Squire Crow," 
John Topping and Isaiah Nye, near the old meeting house; Zoeth 
Nickerson, on the North road east of the East Harwich meeting 
house; Christopher Ryder and Enos Kent in Chathamport; Thacher 
Ryder, Zenas Atkins and Captain Benjamin T. Freeman in North 
Chatham; Stephen G. Davis, who about 1830 established himself in 
West Chatham on the Oyster Pond river near where it turns to the 
south; Daniel Howes, who succeeded Davis and afterwards moved 
the store to the main road; Nabby C. Taylor, widow of Reuben C. 
Taylor, also in West Chatham; Levi and Hiram T. Eldridge in 
South Chatham. In the village the first stores were probably 
those of Elisha Hopkins on Stage Neck and Richard Sears near the 
Soldiers' monument. Others that followed were those of Josiah 
Hardy at his wharf near the Lights, Charlotte W. Hallett and 
her son, Solomon E. Hallett, Ziba Nickerson, Sullivan Rogers (tin, 
sheet iron and other hardware), Edward Howard (tailor), Samuel 
M. Atwood (market), Washington Taylor; Levi Atwood (long town 
clerk. Clerk of the Congregational church and familiar with the 
history of the town), south of the head of the Oyster pond, and 
in the same locality the lumber yard of John Emery; while north 
of the head of the Oyster pond' was the crowded store of David 
Howes, where everything seemed ill-arranged and in disorder, but 
from which no customer ever went away empty-handed, no matter 
how out of date or unusual the article he desired. Some of the 
earlier stores sold liquor and in- that respect served the purpose of 
taverns. In the vicinity of the old meeting house, the Widows 
Knowles long kept a tavern, which was resorted to at times of 
general training and on other public occasions. 

55 



HABITS. 

In the early history of the town there was much tliat dif- 
fered from present conditions. Reaping was done with the sickle. 
The clothing and the coverings for the beds were of wool or flax 
and chiefly made at home. The large and small spinning wheel, 
the hatchel, cards and the loom were a necessary part of the 
household furniture. The beds were filled with straw or feathers. 
The women made their own soap, and the tallow candles, which, 
with whale oil, supplied the light, were of domestic manufacture. 
There were no friction matches. The tinder, flint and steel suf- 
ficed to kindle the fire. There were no clocks at first. Hour 
glasses were used, as well as sundials. The houses were built 
fronting the south so that the shadow of the chimney would in- 
dicate noon. There were no stoves. The houses had large chim- 
neys with enormous fireplaces where the family in winter nights 
could sit on either side of the fire of green wood which burned 
between huge fore and back logs. The crane and pot hooks, the spit, 
the andirons and bellows were necessary apparatus. If the back 
of the dweller when facing the fire was cold he could warm it by 
turning it to the blaze. A feature of each house was the brick 
oven built into the chimney, heated by building a fire in it. In 
it, when the fire was drawn, the pies and cakes, the puddings and 
pots of beans, and the loaves of brown bread were placed on 
Saturdays, to be cooked by the slowly diminishing heat, which 
lasted through the night. The earlier inhabitants did not seek the 
main roads as sites for their houses. They preferably built near 
ponds where good water was at hand or on the shores of the bays 
convenient for fishing. Markets did not exist. ■ Fresh meat was ob- 
tainable in the fall when a hog or a beef animal was killed for 
winter use. At other times a fowl, a calf or a sheep of the 
domestic stock might be used, or the "beef cart" patronized, 
which once or twice a week came to the door. While efforts 
were earlier made to check the excessive use of intoxicating liquors, 
the idea of total abstinence did not take root until about 1830 or 
later. Before that a supply of Medford r»im was a necessary part 

5G 



of the winter's stock and on days of general training or other pub- 
lic occasions liquors were supplied on the spot or at the tavern. 
Sunday was strictly observed. Churchgoing was obligatory and 
could be enforced by law. The Puritan Sabbath resembled that of 
the Jews from whom it was borrowed. It began at sunset Sat- 
urday night and ended at sunset Sunday night. A bride was ex- 
pected to carry to her new home an outfit for housekeeping largely 
made with her own hands. The men wore knee-breeches, and 
their hair was braided in queues The tailoring was done by 
women. The boots and shoes were made by the cobbler of the 
neighborhood. The chairs were of domestic manufacture, bottomed 
with flags. The travel, when not on foot, was on horseback, the 
man in front on the saddle and the woman behind on the pillion. 
Sometimes oxcarts were used. Carriages for pleasure or comfort 
were late in coming. At first they were two-wheeled chaises. I 
have been told by my elders that the first chaise in town (prob- 
ably about 1800), and long the only one, was owned by Squire 
Sears. In the early years there was little money. Taxes were 
collected in kind and transactions were carried on by exchange. 
Some English silver was in circulation and Spanish silver also ap- 
peared. The first bills of credit of the province, which appeared 
before 1700, became soon depreciated, and were known as the "old 
tenor." Other issues, known as "middle" and "new tenor," followed. 
In 1749 the value of the old tenor was fixed by law at a little 
over one-eighth of its face value in silver, and the middle and new 
tenor at about one-half. During the Revolution the Continental 
paper was also rapidly depreciated, until in 1780 it was worth 
only one-thirtieth of its face in silver, and it ultimately became 
worthless. Prices became very high, and they attempted to regu- 
late them by law, as has so often been attempted before and 
since, and no doubt with a like result. The town voted August 16, 
1779, to appoint a committee to fix prices and wages. This com- 
mittee reported on the Gth of September. The meeting approved 
the schedule presented and voted that anyone violating it should 
be deemed an enemy of the country and treated as such. 

57 



There were few safe means of investment, and those who had 
money hoarded it. Luxuries were not entirely wanting. Some fam- 
ilies had silver spoons and other articles brought from Boston or 
abroad, and gold beads for the ladies were not wholly absent. A 
writer in 1802 says: "The inhabitants are very industrious. The 
women are engaged in the domestic employments and manufactures 
usual in other parts of Massachusetts, and a number of them in 
curing fish at the flake yards." If we substitute "cranberry bogs" 
for "flake yards," this description will not be far astray today. 

The conditions of the ancient life had their beneficial effects. 
Not only the spirit of self help was called out, but mutual helpful- 
ness was a necessity and must have softened the harder side of 
humanity which the stern struggle for a somewhat isolated exis- 
tence would tend to foster. The care of the sick appealed to all, 
and while there were no trained nurses, the neighborhood produced 
men and women experieneced in watching and caring for the sick 
according to the light of the times. House raisings, sheep shear- 
ings and huskings brought the p30ple together in social meetings 
with amusement and jollity, as the church services did in a more 
serious mood. The poor were always present. At first when help 
at home did not suffice they were farmed out to those citizens 
who would take them for the least sum per week or year, having 
the benefit of their services. Later the town bought for an alms- 
house and poor farm the house and farm of James Taylor in West 
Chatham that had belonged to his father, Samuel Taylor. This 
house and its successor built by the town were managed by keep- 
ers and the town's poor cared for there until 1878, when the 
house and farm were sold and a new almshouse established next 
to the Baptist church. 

POSTOFFICE. 

In early times letters could be transmitted only by private 
messenger or by the casual traveler. The first postoffice in the 
town was opened January 1, 1798, with James Hedge as postmas- 
ter. He served until 1801, when he was succeeded by Ezra 
Crowell, who held the place lyitil 1819, when he was succeeded by 

58 



Theophilus Crowell, who served till 1821. He was succeeded by 
Josiah Mayo June 8, 1822, who held the place until 18G1, being also 
from 1847 to 1873 town clerk and treasurer. In 1861 Ziba INickerson 
succeeded Mayo and was postmaster for 20 years. Until after the 
appointment of Mr. Mayo the postoffice was located in the northern 
part of the town near the old burying ground, which, as we have 
stated, had been the chief center of the town, but, after 1820, the 
locality now known as the "village" began to forge ahead and 
later became the most populous part of the town. A demand for 
the removal of the postoffice sprang up. At a town meeting held 
March 6, 1826, the question was raised whether the postoffice 
should be moved to another part of the town or steps should be 
taken to have an additional postoffice. Both propositions were 
negatived. But in 1828 a postoffice was established at North Chat- 
ham, with Isaiah Nye as the first postmaster, and at this time 
the old postoffice had no doubt been removed down town. The 
West Chatham postoffice was established in 1856 with Daniel 
Howes as first postmaster. The Chathamport and South Chatham 
postoffices were both establi-shed in 1862 with Enos Kent and Levi 
Eldridge, Jr., as the incumbents respectively. At first the mail was 
received weekly, by 1815 twice a week and after 1820 three times 
a week. In 1827, the late Samuel D. Clifford, then a boy of 14, 
carried the mail on horseback, starting from and returning to 
Yarmouth the same day. Daily mails were established in 1848. 
The telegraph reached the town in 1855, and the office was placed 
in charge of our venerable fellow citizen, Ziba Nickerson. The 
telephone first appeared in 1883. News was not obtained so 
promptly as now. In the years preceding 1860 Boston semi-week- 
lies were taken chiefly for their shipping news and often one 
paper served for two or more families. Local news was chiefly 
obtained through the Barnstable Patriot, established in 1830, and 
the Yarmouth Register, established in 1836. The Chatham Monitor 
first appeared in 1871. The Chatham Gazette was established in 
1892. These local papers are weeklies. 



RAILROADS AND OTHER PUBLIC MEANS OF TRAVEL. 

Communication with Boston was at first a matter of consider- 
able time and discomfort. The journey could be made on horse- 
back, or advantage could be taken of the casual vessels that made 
the voyage from Chatham to that port. The fishing vessels in 
the fall frequently took the dried fish there for sale and returned 
with provisions and goods to supply the winter needs of the in- 
habitants. About 1830 packets were run from Brewster and Chat- 
ham to Boston. Some of us can remember the Chatham packets 
at the wharf of Josiah Hardy near the Lights and the ball and 
flag on the former doctor's house on the north road that indicated 
the sailing and arrival of the Brewster packet. Much use of this 
was made by the Chatham people to avoid the trip around the 
Gape. The railroad was completed to Sandwich in 1848. It was 
extended to Yarmouth and Hyannis in 1854. Lines of stages were 
then run from Chatham to Yarmouth and at one time there was 
a line also to Hyannis. In 1865 Harwich was reached by the rail- 
road and from that time on a short carriage ride was required 
until the Chatham railroad was opened in 1887. 

LIGHTHOUSES AND LIFESAVING STATIONS. 

The inhabitants of Chatham were early called upon to give re- 
lief to seamen wrecked upon its shores. In 1711 if is stated the 
village "has often heretofore been a place of relief to many ship- 
wracked vessels and Englishmen cast ashore in storms." No public 
action was taken looking to the succor of men cast ashore until 
the Humane Society with headquarters in Boston placed houses of 
refuge along the coast. In 1802 one of these huts was located half 
way between Nauset and Chatham harbors. "The meeting house of 
Chatham is situated from it southwest. This meeting house is 
also without a steeple and is concealed by the Great hill, a noted 
landmark. The hill appears with two summits which are a quarter 
of a mile apart." There was another hut a mile north of the 
mouth of Chatham harbor, east of the meeting house and opposite 
the town. Still another was on' Monomoy beach. 

60 



The Chatham Lights, on James Head, were established in Octo- 
ber 1808, and after one of them was washed away, they were re- 
built 255 feet west of the original position, in 1877. Monomoy light 
station was established in 1823, and the house was moved 212 feet 
southerly in 1849. The Stage Harbor (or Harding's beach) light 
station was established in 1880. Lifesaving stations were first 
established on this coast in 1872, when the Monomoy station, re- 
built in 1905, was constructed. The Chatham station was estab- 
lished in 1873 and reconstructed in 1893. Monomoy Point station 
was built in 1874 and rebuilt in 1900. The Old Harbor station 
was established in 1898. 

EARLY NOTICES. 

It may be interesting to know what was written about us a 
century ago. 

A writer, in 1791, says: 

"Southeast from Harwich is Chatham, situated in the outer el- 
bow of the Cape, having the sea on the east and on the south; 
Harwich on the west and Eastham on the north. The land is level 
and cleared of wood, and in many places commands a fine view of 
the sea. ' The soil in general is thin, the average produce of 
Indian corn being 12 bushels, and of rye 6 bushels, to the acre. 
There is not a stream of running water in the town. Their mills 
are turned by wind, as on other parts of the Cape. No town is 
more conveniently located with respect to water conveyance, hav- 
ing two harbors and many coves and inlets making up into every 
part of the town. They are well situated for carrying on the cod 
fishery, and employ about forty vessels in that business; some of 
them fish upon the banks of Newfoundland and others upon the 
shoals. As the harbors of this town are in the elbow or turn of 
the Gape, they afford a shelter for vessels of a moderate size, 
when passing and re-passing. But the harbors being barred, 
renders the ingress somewhat difficult to those who are not well 
acquainted with them. The depth of water is sufficient for vessels 
of two or three hundred tons burthen. Besides the fishery car- 
ried on in vessels at se^, they have plenty of cod at the mouths 

61 



of their harbors, which are taken in small boats. They take plenty 
of bass in the season for them. Their coves abound with eels; 
they have plenty of oysters and other shell fish for their own 
consumption." "The scarcity of wood obliges the inhabitants to use 
it with great frugality, five cords of wood being a year's stock 
for a small family. Pine wood is two dollars and an half, and 
oak three dollars and an half per cord." 

The same writer, speaking of Gape Cod, says: 

"The winds in every direction come from the sea, and invalids 
by visiting the Cape sometimes experience the same benefit as 
from going to sea." 

Another writer, in 1802, says: 

"But husbandry is pursued with little spirit, the people in 
general passing the flower of their lives at sea, which they do 
not quit till they are fifty years of age, leaving at home but the 
old men and small boys to cultivate the ground." "A few of the 
young and middle aged men are engaged in mercantile voyages 
and sail from Boston, but the great body of them are fishermen. 
Twenty-five schooners, from 25 to 70 tons, are employed in the 
cod fishery. They are partly owned in Boston and other places, 
but principally in Chatham. About one-half of them fish on the 
banks of Newfoinidland; the rest on Nantucket shoals, the shores 
of Nova Scotia and in the straits of Belle Isle. On board these 
schooners are about 200 men and boys, most of them are inhab- 
itants of Chatham; and they catch one year with another 700 or 
800 quintals to a vessel. Besides these fishing vessels, there are 
belonging to the town five coasters, which sail to Carolina and the 
West Indies." "Few towns in the county are so well provided 
with harbors as Chatham. The first and most important is on 
the eastern side of the town and is called Old Harbor. It is 
formed by a narrow beach, which completely guards it against the 
ocean. The haven on the western side of this beach is extensive; 
but the harbor of Chatham is supposed to reach not farther than 
Strong Island, a distance of about four miles. Above that the 
water, which is within the limits of Harwich and (Orleans, is known 

62 



by other names. The breadth of tlie liarbor is about, three-quarters 
of a mile. Its entrance, a quarter of a mile wide, is formed by 
the point of the beach and James' Head east of it on the main 
land. - - - There are no rocks either within or near the harbor; 
but its mouth is obstructed by bars, which extend east and south- 
east of the point of the beach three-quarters of a mile. On each 
side of this mouth is a breaker; one called the north, and the 
other, the south breaker. There are also several bars in the 
harbor within the outer bars. These bars are continually shift- 
ing." "At low water there are seven feet on the outer bar, com- 
mon tides rising about six feet. There is good holding 

ground in the harbor. - - - The depth at low water is about 20 
feet. Not only do the bars alter, but the mouth of the harbor also 
is perpetually varying. At present it is gradually moving south- 
ward by the addition of sand to the point of the beach. The 
beach has thus extended about a mile within the course of the 
past forty years." "The principal business of the town is done 
near Old Harbor." "The greatest part of the fuel which is con- 
sumed is brought from the district of Maine; and costs at present 
about seven dollars a cord. Five cords of wood are considered as a 
sufficient yearly stock for a family." "Not more than half enough 
Indian corn for the consumption of the inhabitants is raised; the 
average produce to an acre is twelve bushels. Rye, the average 
produce of which is six bushels, is raised in the same proportion. 
Thirty years ago a small quantity of wheat was grown, but at 
present it is wholly neglected." "There are excellent oysters in 
the Oyster pond; but they are scarce and dear, selling for a dollar 
a bushel." 

Stage Harbor is also described by this writer. 

In 1839 a writer states that forty years before large ships userl 
to come into the harbor, but thiMi it was so injured by a sand 
bar that had been forming that only small craft could enter. The 
same writer says that while Chatham is in extent one of the 
smallest towns on the Cape it was said to be one of lli(> wealthi- 

1)3 



est. A large amount of shipping was owned by the inhabitants in 
other places. 

In 1846 it is said: 

"The Harbor of Chatham which was formerly a good one is 
now nearly destroyed by the shifting of the sand bars near its 
mouth. Where the entrance to it formerly was there is a beach 
25 feet high, covered with beach grass, and a mile in length." 
"There is considerable wealth in this place. A large amount of 
tonnage is owned here which sail from other places. The value of 
fish cured at Chatham is very considerable, and large quantities of 
salt are made." 

How different is the world of today from the world of 1712? 
What changes have taken place? France was under the rule of 
the Bourbons. The French Revolution and Napoleon were nearly a 
century in the future. Italy, now united and progressive, was 
under the heel of foreign princes or consisted of fragmentary and 
hostile communities. Germany, now a mighty, consolidated empire, 
was a loose confederacy of small principalities under the leadership 
of Austria. St. Petersburg had just been founded, and Peter the 
Great was still at his task of converting Russia from Asiatic back- 
wardness and isolation into a modern European power. On this 
side of the ocean a feeble fringe of English colonies stretched 
along the coast from the Savannah river to Maine. Georgia was 
not yet settled. North of Maine all was French. West of the Al- 
leghanies the territory was claimed by the French. From Texas to 
the Isthmus of Panama and over substantially the entire continent 
of South America the Spaniards held sway, except in Brazil, which 
had been colonized by Portugal. Through the entire field of in- 
dustry the means were essentially those of the ancient world. All 
the great changes that have been wrought by steam and electricity, 
guided by inventive genius, were yet to come. Through these 
two centuries, through all these mighty developments, this little 
community has moved steadily on its way, not driven from its 
moorings, nor on the other hand producing events that will find 
their place in general history, but the scene of honest lives of 

64 



brave, industrious and energetic men and women. Without such as 
these the republic would not exist. 

In closing this address, I must not fail to say a word for those 
who like myself have long lived away from the old home. Those 
who have remained here can scarcely understand our feelings as we 
visit this scene of our childhood and youth. There rush upon us 
the memories of former days. The companions with whom we 
played live again, though too many have gone before. The little 
school house is peopled again. Here are the graves where rest the 
bones of our ancestors, and here the old house calls up the tender 
and hallowed memories of father and mother, of brother and sister. 
Can we ever forget? How can I better answer than by quoting the 
lines of Burns in his lament upon the death of his benefactor, 
Lord Glencairn? — 

"The bridegroom may forget the bride 

Was made his wedded wife yestreen; , 
The monarch may forget the crown 

That on his head an hour has been; 
The mother may forget the child 

That smiles sae sweetly on her knee; 
But I'll remember thee, Glencairn, 

And a' that thou hast done for me!" 

At the close of the address of Mr, Hawes, the chairman (hav- 
ing just received the news) announced the death that morning of Mr. 
Ziba Nickerson, the oldest citizen of the town, for many years 
postmaster of the place and manager of the telegraph office, and 
prominent in the Universalist church. After a brief and appropri- 
ate tribute to his character, Mr. Freeman requested the audience 
to rise and sing "Nearer My God to Thee," which was done. 

The chairman then introduced Mr. Joseph C. Lincoln, the well- 
known novelist of Cape Cod, a frequent summer visitor to the 
town, who had been invited to read some of his Cape Cod poems. 
Mr. Lincoln happily prefaced his reading with the following re- 
marks: 

65 



ADDRESS OF MR. JOSEPH G. LINCOLN. 

Fellow Cape Coddcrs: I can't say "Fellow Chathamers" — that 
is, I can't say it truthfully, and, although I write fiction, I dislike 
to speak it, particularly in a place where everyone knows me and 
it would be of no use. I am not a native of Chatham. I came 
within ten miles of being one: I was born in Brewster, which is 
ten miles from Chatham as the crow flies and about two hours as 
the horse used to trot — or walk— over — or through — the old time 
Cape Cod roads. I was, as I say, born in Brewster. That is not 
Brewster's fault, of course; so far as I know it is, in other respects, 
a perfectly respectable community. But until you have tried it 
you cannot realize the disappointment of being so near the real 
thing and missing it by a matter of ten miles. 

I did my best to overcome the handicap. At the age of two I 
personally superintended the marriage of a near and very dear 
relative to one of Chatham's best known citizens and, having thus, 
so to speak, cast an anchor to windward, I began visiting here at 
once. I have been a pretty regular visitor ever since. 

I owe a great deal to Chatham. There may be places in 
which I owe more, but, personally, I am willing to forget that; 
I was always generous in that way. But, as I say, I owe a great 
deal to Chatham, I have basked in the sunshine of your beaches 
and its warmth has burned into my heart — as well as my neck. 
Your fish have fed. me, and, upon several of my many sailing 
excursions, I have — well, I have returned the compliment. I am 
always kind to dumb creatures and, if I may mention it without 
boasting, I think the affection is returned. For instance, I suppose 
there is not a person living of whom your Morris Island mosquito 
is fonder than he is of me. And of all dumb creatures I rate the 
Morris Island mosquito as the very "dumbdest." 

So, although I am not a native Chathamer, when your commit- 
tee asked me to come here today and read some of my Cape "Cod 
.verses, I was only too glad to say yes. I congratulate you upon 
your two hundredth birthday. You are the youngest looking crowd 
— your age considered— that I have ever- seen. I think Chatham 

66 



must have, somewhere within its borders, the fountain of perpet- 
ual youth. 

California is, as you know, always boasting of its wonderful 
youth-giving climate. Some years ago a man named Jones from my 
adopted state. New Jersey, went out there to live. After he had 
been there six months a friend of his received a letter from him. 
The letter said, "You should come here, old man. The climate is 
wonderful. I feel ten years younger already." At the end of an- 
other six months another letter came. This said, "Climate more 
wonderful than ever. I feel twenty years younger now." And, 
during the following year, a third epistle stated that the writer 
felt forty years younger. At last the friend, he who received the 
letters, himself took a trip to California. He sought the town 
where Jones had been living and inquired concerning him. The 
person of whom he inquired looked pained and shocked — "Why, 
haven't you heard?" he exclaimed, "Jones died last month of 
cholera infantum," 

It is my hope that here in Chatham we may renew our 
youth— not quite to Mr Jones's extent— but at least to the extent 
of being always young enough to throw up our hats and give a 
hearty boyish cheer, whenever the old town's birthday comes 
around. And I sincerely hope you will invite me to your three 
hundredth anniversary. 

Now we will proceed to the really serious business of the af- 
ternoon—serious for you, as listeners, I mean. In accordance with 
your committee's request I will read two or three of my Cape Cod 
ballads. 

Matildy's Beau. 

I hain't no great detective, like yer read about,— the kind 
That solves a whole blame murder case by foot-marks left behind; 
But then, again, on t'other hand, my eyes hain't shut so tight 
But I can add up two and two and get the answer right; 
So, when prayer-meet'ns, Friday nights, got keepin' awful late. 
And, fer an hour or so, I'd hear low voices at the gate— 

67 



And when that gate got saggin' down 'bout ha'f a foot er so— 
I says ter mother: "Ma," says I, "Matildy's got a beau." 

We ought ter have expected it — she's 'most eighteen, yer see; 
But, sakes alive! she's always seemed a baby, like, ter me; 
And so, a feller after her! why, that jest did beat all! 
But, t'other Sunday, bless yer soul, he come around ter call; 
And when I see him all dressed up as dandy as yer please. 
But sort er lookin' 's if he had the shivers in his knees, 
I kind er realized it then, yer might say, like a blow — 
Thinks I, "No use! I'm gittin' old; Matildy's got a beau." 

Just twenty-four short years gone by — it do'n't seem five, I vow!— 

I fust called on Matildy— that's Matildy's mother now; 

I recollect I spent an hour a-tyin' my cravat, 

And I'd sent up ter town and bought a bang-up shiny hat. 

And, my! oh, my! them new plaid pants; well, wa'n't I something 

grand 
When I come up the walk with some fresh posies in my hand? 
And didn't I feel like a fool when her young brother, Joe, 
Sang out: "Gee crickets! Looky here! Here comes Matildy's beau!" 

And now another feller comes up my walk, jest as gay, 
And here's Matildy blushin' red in jest her mother's way; 
And when she says she's got ter go an errand to the store. 
We know he's waitin' 'round the bend, jest as I've done afore; 
Or, when they're in the parlor and I knock, why, bless yer heart! 
I have ter smile ter hear how quick their chairs are shoved apart. 
They think us old folks don't "catch on" a single bit but, sho! 
I reckon they fergit I was Matildy's mother's beau. 

The Parlor. 

The kitchen's where the goodies are, and other stuff to eat, 
And you can fool around in there, and laugh, and scuff your feet. 
The dining-room is light and bright and kind of everyday, 
And, when it rains or snows outside, a bully place to play. 

68 



The sitting-room is warm and nice, with lamps and books and plants, 
And chairs a chap can curl up in without the "don'ts" and "can'ts." 
The bedrooms— well, they don't count much, except at night, you 

see. 
But say! the best front parlor— that's the room that worries me! 

It's shut up almost all the week; the shades are pulled down tight. 
The blinds are closed and it's as dark, almost, as if 'twas night. 
And if you do look in, you see the whatnot thing^s in rows, 
The album, and that picture thing you hold against your nose, 
The organ and the sofa too: the chairs all sitting round. 
Each just exactly straight, as if 'twas planted in the ground. 
And every blessed thing that's there looks just as if it said: 
"Come in, my boy, but keep real still, 'cause all creation's dead." 

When Sunday comes it's opened up, but it's no better then, 
And you keep wishing all the time they'd shut it up again. 
You mustn't make the organ go, nor move the furniture. 
You can't lie down because your boots '11 spoil the sofa sure. 
You mustn't rock the patent chair, 'cause something on it's broke 
And sounds like cats that want to sing, but can't because they 

choke. 
You mustn't touch the whatnot stuff, nor blow the Pampas grass, 
Nor look out of the window 'cause your breath smokes up the 

glass ! 

The other rooms you understand; you're living in 'em now, 
But that old parlor — sakes alive! what is it, anyhow? 
It's grand and fine, I s'pose, and suits the minister and such. 
And p'raps it's just the place to keep the things you mustn't touch, 
And maybe Sunday ought to be a day when no one's glad, — 
But I don't see why being good should make you feel so bad. 
And when I get to be a man, and grown, there ain't a doubt 
That, in the house I build they'll leave the best front parlor out. 

69 



The Surf Along the Shore. 

Ye children of the mountain, sing of your craggy peaks, 
Your valleys forest laden, your cliffs where Echo speaks; 
And ye, who by the prairies your childhood's joys have seen, 
Sing of your waving grasses, your velvet miles of green: 
But when my memory wanders down to the dear old home, 
I hear, amid my dreaming, the seething of the foam. 
The wet wind through the pine trees, the sobbing crash and roar, 
The mighty surge and thunder of the surf along the shore. 

I see upon the sand-dunes the beach grass sway and swing, 
I see the whirling sea-birds sweep by on graceful wing, 
J see the silver breakers leap high on shoal and bar 
And hear the bell-buoy tolling his lonely note afar. 
The green salt-meadows fling me their salty, sweet perfume, 
I hear, through miles of dimness, the watchful foghorn boom; 
Once more, beneath the blackness of night's great roof-tree high. 
The wild geese chant their marches athwart the arching sky. 

The dear old Cape! I love it! I love its hills of sand. 
The sea-wind singing o'er it, the seaweed on its strand; 
The bright blue ocean 'round it, the clear blue sky o'erhead; 
The fishing boats, the dripping nets, the white sails filled and 

spread; — 
For each heart has its picture, and each its own home song. 
The sights and sounds which move it when Youth's fair memories 

throng; 
And when, down dreamland pathways, a boy, I stroll once more 
r hear the mighty music of the surf along the shore. 

The last speaker of the day was William C. Smith, Esq., for- 
merly of Boston and Weston, a native and resident of the town, 
who has written its early history: 

70 



ADDRESS OF WILLIAM C. SMITH, ESQ. 

At this hour and after having heard so much of interest about 
the history of Chatham, you will not, I think, expect from me 
anything more than a brief response to the invitation of your 
chairman. 

I wish, first of all, to ca!', your attention to three events, which, 
it seems to me, lend to this locality an interest and a distinction 
quite apart from, and in some respects, above that of other local- 
ities. The first is the visit of Champlain to Stage Harbor in 1606. 
Long before the English began to think seriously of colonizing 
New England, the French had carefully explored the coast, in 
search of a suitable harbor where, in a mild climate, they might 
found a settlement. Champlain was engaged in this search when he 
entered the harbor of Monomoit. He was, however, disappointed 
in his quest. The harbor was small and difficult of approach, and 
his experiences with the natives were most unfortunate. Not only 
was he the first European to set foot on this part of the Cape, 
but his encounters with the Indians were the first of any conse- 
quence which had ever occurred in New England between the 
natives and the pale faces from beyond the sea. It seems, there- 
fore, that on these quiet shores of this peaceful lown of Chatham 
was enacted the first of that long series of bloody tragedies, which 
ended only with the complete subjugation of the Indian race in 
New England. 

The second event, to which I have referred, is connected with 
the voyage of the Mayflower in 1620. After the Pilgrims first 
sighted land on this side of the ocean, they turned their vessel 
southward and followed the outer coast of Cape Cod, intending to 
reach New Jersey or Hudson river, where they had a grant of 
land from the English king. But when they arrived off the shores 
of Chatham, they perceived that the water began to grow more 
shallow and boiling seas presently appeared ahead, so that there 
seemed to be no hope of passage, and the master of the ship, 
becoming alarmed, turned back and sought refuge in Provincetown 

71 



harbor, whence later the voyagers crossed to Plymouth. Right 
here, therefore, within sight of our shores, on that November day, 
1620, was decided the destiny of New England, and it is to the 
shoals of Pollock Rip that we owe the fact that we are today cit- 
izens of Massachusetts and not, perchance, of New Jersey or New 
York. 

The third event, of which I wish to speak, is also connected 
with the Pilgrim fathers. It relates to the faithful Indian friend 
of the Pilgrims, who came to the Plymouth settlement soon after 
it was founded and not only assisted in keeping the Indians friend- 
ly, but taught the settlers how to plant their corn, where to get 
fish and other necessaries and who acted as their interpreter, guide 
and assistant on many occasions. His name was Squanto or 
Tisquantum. In the autumn of 1622, when the supply of corn in 
the colony was low and provision must be made for the approach- 
ing winter, Gov. Bradford took Squanto and a crew of men with 
him, sailed around outside the Cape and entered the harbor of Mon- 
omoit. Through the friendly offices of their guide, they obtained 
the corn and beans which they desired, and were about to depart 
for other places, when Squanto suddenly became ill. No medicines 
of the natives availed to save him and in a few days he passed 
^way, and in all probability lies buried somewhere within the 
limits of this town. There is no more touching passage in Gov. 
Bradford's whole History of Plymouth Plantation than that in which 
he pays tribute to the faithfulness of this untutored savage, who 
probably, more than any one else, made Ihe success of Plymouth 
Colony possible. . ■ ' ■' " ; ' ^ ' ' 

If there is any person in this audience who desires to add 
some features of abiding interest to this part of the Cape and to 
this constantly growing summer resort and has the wherewithal to 
accomplish it, he could do no better than to erect at suitable 
points in this town three permanent memorials to these three his- 
toric events, the visit of Champlain, the turning back of the May- 
flower, and the death of the saver of Plymouth Colony. 

I wish, further, to call your attention, more fully than has 

72 



already been done, to the career of one of the sons of Chatham who 
has made success in a distant land. I refer to Capt. Benj. God- 
frey of Alton, 111. His career was remarkably full of dramatic 
features. Running away to sea at the age of nine years, he spent 
his youth upon the coast of Ireland. Returning home about 1812, 
he gradually rose to the command of vessels running to the West 
Indies. Shipwrecked, at length, on the Cuban coast and having lost 
everything, he next located in business at Matamoras, Mexico. This 
was in 1826. In a few years he had accumulated a fortune of 
about $200,000 and decided to leave the country. He packed his 
treasure on the backs of mules, but on his way out he was set 
upon by bandits, who took everything from him. He sat down by 
the wayside and shed tears; but soon recovering his courage, he 
proceeded as far as New Orleans, where he again engaged in busi- 
ness and in a few years found himself in possession of $50,000. 
He then proceeded up the Mississippi river to a point on the fron- 
tier above St. Louis and opened a wholesale store at what is now 
the city of Alton. Here he had many ups and downs, but in the 
end came out with considerable success. He built a church for the 
congregation with which he worshipped, was prominent in estab- 
lishing the Illinois State bank, attempted to corner the lead mar- 
ket, was the organizer ^nd leading spirit in several railroad enter- 
prises, and warmly espoused the anti-slavery cause. His most 
important work, however, was the establishment of a seminary for 
the education of young ladies, called the Monticello Female Sem- 
inary, at Godfrey, 111. At that time, when little thought was given 
to the higher education of wome;i, this act of Captain Godfrey 
was doubtless considered a most unheard-of proceeding. It was 
many years before the work of the seminary was attended with 
much success, but in the sixty years or more of its existence, it 
has graduated over 700 pupils and probably three times as many 
have attended it without graduating. Among its alunmi I find the 
wife of a former candidate for the vice-presidency, the wife of a 
judge of a United States circuit court and the wives of scores of 
lawyers, clergymen and doctors. It has been a beacon in that dis- 



tant land to guide the alert and ambitious to higher aims and ideals, 
and it stamps Captain Godfrey as a man, who not only knew how 
to accumulate money, but also had the supreme virtue of knowing 
how to use it after he had gotten it. 

It is over 300 years since the real history of this place began. 
It is nearly 250 years since it was first settled. The early settlers, 
as you have been told, came from Old Yarmouth on the west and 
Old Eastham on the north. Those who came from Old Yarmouth 
were all Puritans, those who came from Old Eastham were, most 
of them, Pilgrims. And so we have today in this locality a race, 
which is a result of the blending of the Puritan and Pilgrim blood. 
Probably in no part of New England, not even in Plymouth itself, 
is there a class of people, in whose veins the Puritan and Pilgrim 
blood courses more untainted and free from innoculation with other 
races, than in these towns of the lower part of Cape Cod. 

We are celebrating today the 200th anniversary of the incor- 
poration of this town. So little did the event of incorporation im- 
press itself upon the people of that early time, that no mention is 
made of it in the town records and no copy of the act of incor- 
poration is to be found therein. One hundred years passed and no 
notice was taken of the fact, but today, on this 200th anniversary, 
we are striving to give the event its proper significance. We may 
not fully succeed in our efforts, but if we have furnished an 
incentive to those who come after us, to follow our example and 
hereafter suitably to inscribe the historic milestones of this com- 
munity, we shall not have labored wholly in vain. 

The exercises were closed by the audience rising and singing 
the hymn "America." 



74 



BASEBALL. 

A game of baseball, following the litercry exercises, had been 
arranged by the committee to take place on the field near the 
tent. The contestants and score appear below: 



Chatham 








South Yarmouth 


Nash, H. 




c. 








Baker, E. 


Miller, C. 




p. 








Baker, B. 


Nickerson, Abner 




lb. 








Taylor 


Fowler, Earl 




2b. 








Brown 


McKay, John F. 




3b. 








Johnson 


Jones, Norman J. 




ss. 








Swift 


Marble, H. Keno 




rf. 








Cahoon 


Hamilton, Richard 




cf. 








White 


Sawyer, Emerson 




If. 








Kelley 


William 


Watts, 


umpire. 






Innings 1 


2 


3 4 


5 


6 


7 


8 9 


Chatham 








1 


1 





2 — 4 


South Yarmouth 


2 














— 2 



BASKET BALL. 

An interesting game of basket ball between -teams representing 
the Chatham and Orleans High schools also took place late in the 
afternoon, resulting in a score of 3 to 1 in favor of Chatham. 

Those playing on the home team were Miss Helen Kendrick, 
captain; Miss Ruby Bassett, Miss Rena Blount, Miss Kate Ryder, 
Miss Blanche Clifford, Miss Doris Grant, Miss Iva Grant. Miss Mary 
Parrish and Miss Florence Grant served as linesmen, and Miss 
Irene Eldredge was umpire. 

RECEPTION. 

The exercises of the first day were brought to a fitting con- 
clusion by a public reception in the Town hall in the evening, 
which was largely attended. Unusual efforts were made to render 

75 



the interior of the hall attractive and as a result it presented an 
appearance never before equalled. The official decorator, by the 
use of pink, green and white drapings on the walls and ceiling, 
produced a delicate and pleasing effect, which was greatly enhanced 
by the use of electric lights. These lights, never before introduced 
into the building, were supplied through the efforts of Mr. Charles 
Lake', manager of the local moving picture entertainments. Rugs, 
couches for the older people, chairs, flowers, etc., added further at- 
tractiveness to the hall. 

Outside on the lawn in front of the building, a decorated band 
stand had been erected. Here the Salem Cadet band gave an excel- 
lent concert from 8 to 10 o'clock, which attracted a very large gath- 
ering and was greatly enjoyed. Many people in automobiles from 
neighboring towns came over to enjoy this part of the program, 
and filled the main street with long lines of cars. 

Inside the hall the social part of the program attracted as 
many as the hall could comfortably hold. 

In the receiving line, were Town Clerk and Mrs. Alfred C. 
Harding, Selectman and Mrs. Joshua A. Nickerson, Selectman and 
Mrs. Alvin Z, Atkins, Selectman Augustus L. Hardy and Miss Bet- 
sey A. Hardy, Hon. James W. Hawes, Hon. and Mrs. Heman A. 
Harding, Representative and Mrs. Benjamin D, Gifford, William C. 
Smith, Esq., and Mrs. Smith, Mr and Mrs. George W. Bloomer, Mr. 
and Mrs. Erastus T. Bearse, Mr, and Mrs. George H. Nickerson, 2d, 
Mr. and Mrs. Cyrenus Ellis, Mr. and Mrs. Carmi Shattuck, Mr. and 
Mrs. Oscar C. Nickerson, Mr. and Mrs. Seymour W. Harding, Mr. 
and Mrs. L. Sidney Atwood, Mr. John P. Farmer, Mrs. Dora A. 
Jones, Miss Bertha M. Arey. 

Former residents of the town and descendants of former resi- 
dents embraced this opportunity to renew old friendships, to meet 
relatives long separated and to strengthen the ties connecting them 
with the old town. 

A short entertainment was provided during the evening. A 
male quartette, consisting of Messrs. Carl W. Sherman, Levi W. D. 
Eldredge, J. Murray Baker, and Dr, Winifred N. Emery of Waltham, 

70 



rendered pleasing musical selections, and Miss Edna Hammond as a 
reader, and Miss Blanche Chase as a soloist contributed very accep- 
tably to the enjoyment of the evening. At the conclusion of the 
entertainment, "Home, Sweet Home" and "Should Old Acquaintance 
Be Forgot" were sung by the company, after which punch and 
light refreshments were served by young ladies of the town. 



i I 



THE SECOND DAY. 

THE EXERCISES OF FRIDAY, AUGUST 2ND. 

The morning of the second day opened fair and favorable for 
the parade. The following account of this feature of the celebra- 
tion is taken from the Boston Daily Globe: 

PARADE. 

"Friday morning the postponed parade was held, and was en- 
tirely worth waiting for. The amount of preparation which had 
been made was surprising in so small a town; a great deal of 
originality in design was shown, and no city parade ever had more 
elaborate floats. 

"The parade even got away fairly near the time set, 10 a. m. 
It marched down the main street of the village, counter-marched at 
the Eldridge stable, by sheer skill of navigation turning on itself in 
a very narrow space, and then rolled triumphantly over to the 
Rockwell grounds for the ball game, dinner and the water sports 
in the afternoon. 

"The Order of the Eastern Star, Pleiades chapter 91, was given 
the first prize of $10, the awards being made on 'general excel- 
lence.' The float was all done in white, with an arrangement of 
temple columns and arches overhead. It was filled with women, all 
of them in white and wearing flowers in their hair. They sat in 
a bank of fresh green verdure, the whole great float being trimmed 
with feathery asparagus. 

"The second prize of $5 went to Nausett lodge 62 of New Eng- 
land Order of Protection. This was another floral float, done in 
white with a delicate green trim for contrast. Women filled it, 

78 




.A \lr 



carrying the banners of their order and wearing pretty caps, and 
on the white 'marble' bench down the middle four pretty children 
wearing silver crowns and helmets held aloft the letters 'N. E. 0. 

p; 

"Pocahontas lodge, the auxiliary of the Red Men, won the third 
prize, $2.50. The squaws, in full regalia, filled two floats built up 
into a pine grove with an Indian camp in the midst. On the wig- 
wam hung scalps; a big kettle swung on a tripod, and the floats 
were driven by a Continental soldier and an 'Uncle Sam,' 

"The fourth prize went also to the Indians, the braves of Mon- 
omoyick tribe, ambushed in their cedar thicket, winning the award. 
"The parade committee, Capt. Oscar C. Nickerson, chairman, L. 
Sidney Atwood and Capt. Samuel Hawes, had decided that automo- 
biles should not be permitted in the parade nor in the prize com- 
petition. 

"This kept the affair entirely local and made the task of the 
judges, George T. Rogers, H. E. Jepson and A. F. Blaisdell, that 
much easier. 

"The three deputy sheriffs formed the police escort. Then 
came Capt. A. A. Howard, chief marshal, with his mounted staff. 

"The Salem Cadet band was next in line, and then the sixty- 
one school children of Chatham— the girls in astonishing majority— 
in charge of Preston L. Chase. Every child had a national flag 
and the girls wore sashes. 

"The float of the New England Order of Protection was fol- 
lowed by what is nowadays the most striking feature of any parade, 
the G. A. R. division. Of Frank B. Hammond post 141, only two 
old men turned out and rode over the route in a carryall, Capt. 
Samuel Hawes in command and R. W. Gifford carrying the silk 
national flag of the post. 

"The Red Men and Pocahontas lodges followed this carriage; 
then came the Order of the Eastern Star. 

"Capt. C. S. Kent drove a replica of the Chatham marine re- 
porting station, an ingenious tower, which he had to reduce in 

79 



height in order to get under telephone wires and the strings of 
signals which formed the street decorations. 

"Right behind the tower came another impressive exhibit— the 
Chatham Lifesaving station surfboat, mounted on its own truck. 
The crew was aboard in white ducks and cork jackets and Capt. H. 
E. Eldredge, in command, even had his steering oar in commission. 
It made a fine show. 

"The entire Chatham Fire department — one extinguisher wagon 
in charge of Fire Warden George H. Ryder, turned out in the wake 
of the surfboat. 

"There were few tradesmen's teams in the parade; by all odds 
the prettiest showing was that of D. E. Bearse, whose buggy and 
harness had been entirely turned into an outfit in green, white and 
lavender. Mr. W. T. Crowell drove a fine, fresh-painted order 
wagon. 

"A barge load of the oldest inhabitants, the Chatham ball team 
in an automobile and a 'volunteer' procession of motors, brought up 
the rear. Owen O'Neil had his machine decked with paper pom- 
pons and three wooly white dogs on the hood; L. B. Darling 
equipped all his passengers with star-spangled-banner sunshades." 

BASEBALL. 

After the parade a game of baseball was played on Rockwell 
field between nines representing the towns of Chatham and Well- 
fleet. Appended is the list of players and the score: 



Chatham 




Wellfleet 


Nash, H. 


c. 


Curtis 


Miller, C. 


p. 


Rose, W. 


Nickerson, Abner 


lb. 


Rose, F. 


Fowler, Earl 


2b. 


Silva 


McKay, John F. 


3b. 


Whidden 


Jones, Norman J. 


ss. 


Curran 


Marble, H. Keno 


rf. 


Gould 


Hamilton, Richard 


of. 


Henderson 


Sawyer, Emerson 


If. 


DeLory 



William Watts, umpire. 



»0 



Innings 123 4 56789 

Chatham 001 000000— 1 

Wellfleet 002001000 — 3 

DINNER. 

The dinner in the large tent was served on the second day to 
about 400 people. 

Menu. 

Chicken Salad Lobster Salad 

Sweet Pickles 

Rolls and Butter 

Assorted Creams and Sherbets 

Assorted Cakes 

Coffee 

After the dinner brief remarks commendatory of the celebration 
were made by C. A. Freeman, Esq., Hon. James W, Hawes and 
Representative William A. Armstrong of Somerville. 

WATER CARNIVAL. 

United States Life Saving Service Drill. 

The history of Chatham has been closely linked with the story 
of the sea. No occasion of this kind would have been complete 
without some reference to the hardy, perilous, self-sacrificing work 
of generations of its men in rescuing imperilled human lives. 

Upon the recommendation of George W. Bowley, superintendent 
of this, the Second district of the United States Life Saving service, 
backed by the active interest of Silas W. Harding, superintendent 
of the First district, himself a native of this town, Hon. Sumner I. 
Kimball, general superintendent of that service, by special permis- 
sion, allowed the keepers and crews of Chatham and Monomoy 
stations, volunteering to do so, to participate in this part of the 
celebration. Superintendent Bowley, because of the demands of his 
official duties, was unable to be present. Superintendent Harding, 

81 



acting as the representative of General Superintendent Kimball, was 
present and had command of the crews. The work of the service 
was most creditable, added in a marked degree to the pleasure of 
the occasion, widened greatly the circle of those acquainted with 
its character, and increased largely the number of its active friends. 
Too much cannot be said in praise of the fine and generous char- 
acter of the manner in which both keepers and surfmen, despite the 
degree of labor involved on the part of men who had the night 
before been upon active duty and must on the succeeding night 
keep their watch and take the chance of whatever labor their 
duties might demand, responded. 

The keepers and crews participating were as follows: 



Chatham 



Monomoy 



Herbert Eldredge 
Franklin M. Eldredge 
Thomas W. Bearse 
Edward L. Clark 
Hezekiah L. Doane 
Roland B, Snow 
Joshua E. Buck 
Harry W. Berry 
Ernest S. Eldredge 



Frank Hamilton 

Roger W. Cahoon 
Walter C. Harding 
Elmore P. Kendrick 
Hai'vey E. Hammond 
John W. Smith 
Manuel J. Silva 
No. 8 Francisco Bloomer (substitute) 



Keeper 
No. 1 

No. 2 
No. 3 
No. 4 

No. 5 
No. 6 
No. 7 



Keeper Eldredge and his crew of the Chatham station gave an 
exhibition of the breeches buoy drill on Rockwell field, where a 
spar and yard had been erected to represent a wreck, and a sand 
anchor planted. The beach cart was rushed into position; the 
apparatus rapidly thrown off and arranged for the work; the shot 
line chest was opened and the gun charged and fired. The first 
shot fell squarely across the yard, and quickly the whip was hauled 
off and made fast, then the hawser, the hawser set taught and 
crotched, and finally with the command of "Man the lee whip" 
the breeches buoy went out and the helpless shipwrecked mariner 
was brought ashore without getting his feet wet, which, the Bos- 



82 



ton Daily Globe says, "was not strange as the drill occurred 100 
yards back from the shore." 

Keeper Hamilton and his crew of the Monomoy station then 
gave an exhibition of the boat drill, on the Mill pond. They 
shoved their boat down, the forward men sprang aboard and to 
their oars at the call of their keeper; the after men assisted the 
keeper to hold the boat up to the sea until a smooth time, and 
then with a rush, oarsmen pulling, keeper and numbers one and 
two heaving and pushing, they launched her clear and tumbled 
into their positions, and got safely over the first breaker and 
away. For a time they pulled back and forth, tossing oars, lay- 
ing on their oars, pulling one side, backing the other, and stern all, 
until suddenly Charles Hamilton, the keeper's son, while rowing on 
the farther side of the cove turned his dory over, when at a call 
from Keeper Eldredge of "man overboard," the Monomoy crew 
sprang to their oars for a dash to his rescue. Just before the 
surfboat reached the drowning man, the bowman was seen to ship 
in his oar, pull off his boots, poise himself on the head sheets and 
dive. The next man forward shipped in his oar and grabbed res- 
cued and rescuer as they came up, while all the others held the 
boat and then backed water to keep her from hitting them. Im- 
mediately the men could be hauled aboard, the boat was turned 
and driven for a float on the shore below Rockwell field, the banks 
of which were covered with interested spectators. The surfboat 
drove through the crowd of intervening boats, was superbly checked, 
and landed alongside a float with the loss of no instant. The 
drowned man was lifted from the boat, turned face down and held 
up by the waist to free him of water, turned on his back with 
pad under him, mouth cleared, chest freed and artificial respira- 
tion induced. 

POWER BOAT RAGES. 

P'irst class— over h. p. and not exceeding 8 h. p. Coiu'se from 

83 



1st 


$10.00 


2nd 


5.00 


1st 


10.00 


2nd 


5.00 



west end of Mill pond, around middleground buoy, to west end of 
Mill pond, channel way. 

Second class— over 4 h. p. and not exceeding 6 h. p. Course 
from west end of Mill pond, around outer channel buoy, to west 
end of Mill pond, channel way. 

Third class— not exceeding 4 h. p. Course from west end of 
Mill pond five times around Mill pond, leaving marks to port. 

All classes flying start. 
Boat Owner Elapsed time Prize Amount 

First Class. 
Tartar Charles S. Train 1 hr. m. 47 s. 

Yictor III. Joseph D. Bloomer 1 hr. 2 m. 58 s. 

Second Class. 
Charles Kendrick 54 m. s. 

Carol Wight 55 m. 28 s. 

Andrew H. Bearse 56 m. 45 s. 

Charles G. Hamilton 57 m, 51 s. 
S. Bradley Mayo 58 m. 4 s. 

Third Class. 
Ernest Gould 22 m. 31 s. 1st 10.00 

George F. Rogers 22 m. 57 s. 2nd 5.00 

Edward H. Cutler 23 m. 41 s. 

Frederick R. Eldredge 
Committee to classify entries, Rev. George E. Perry. 

SURF BOAT RACE. 

Course from west end of Mill pond, twice around Mill pond, 
leaving all marks to port. 
Andrew H. Bearse at steering oar. Benjamin 0. Eldredge, Chester 

A, Eldredge, . George I. Crowell, Harry W. Crowell, C. Bemad 

Nickerson, Nathaniel W. Hamilton, crew. 

Elapsed time, 2 m. 50 sec. 1st prize, $25.00. 
Herbert E. Eldredge at steering oar. Franklin M. Eldredge, Thomas 

W. Bearse, Edward L. Clark, Hezekiah L. Doane, Roland B. 

84 



Snow, Joshua E. Buck, Harry W. Berry, Ernest S. Eldredge, 
crew. Elapsed time, 4 m. 7 sec. 2nd prize, $15.00. 

William A. Bloomer at steering oar. Bradford N. Bloomer, John 
Pitts, Frank E. Allison, Donald Bloomer, Winnie Robbins, Wal- 
ter N. Eldredge, crew. 

Elapsed time, 2 m. 55 sec. 3rd prize, $5.00. 
The crews steered by Andrew H. Bearse and by William A. 
Bloomer used the two pilot boats from the South boat house; the 
crew steered by Herbert E. Eldredge used a regular service boat of 
the Chatham Lifesaving station somewhat larger than the others 
and having an iron keel. William A. Bloomer in trying to pass 
Herbert E. Eldredge fouled and second prize was given Herbert E. 
Eldredge. 

DORY RACE. 

Course, starting at west end of Mill pond, once around, leaving 
buoys to port, flying start. 

Ernest S. Eldredge 1st prize -"^"-^^ 

Benjamin O. Eldredge 2nd prize ^-^^ 

Won by 3 seconds. 

DECORATED BOATS. 

Most Original Decoration. 
Frederick R. Eldredge, Lateen Rig with Mediterranean cargo, 

prize, $10.00 

Most Beautiful Decoration. 
Henry Haines, Bower of Crimson Rambler Roses, $10.00 

Alfred A. Howard, Champlain's Ship, Honorable mention. 

JUDGES OF ALL EVENTS. 

Supt. George W. Bowley, Mr. Frank M. Nickerson, 

Hon. A. D. Early, Mr. Walter C. Bloomer. 

Mr. Willis T. Bearse. 

85 



CONCERT AND BALL. 

The concert and ball took place in the beautifully decorated 
Town hall on the evening of the second day of the celebration and 
concluded the event. 

It was the most elaborate affair of its kind ever attempted in 
the town. More than two hundred citizens and guests were partic- 
ipants in the gayety of the evening, many of whom were in hand- 
some and elaborate costumes which, aided by electric lights, made 
a most brilliant scene. * 

The concert given by the orchestra was of unusual excellence 
and encores were frequent, during which the matrons received the 
guests presented by the reception committee. 

The grand march was formed promptly at nine o'clock, led by 
Mr. E. T. Bearse and Miss Cora Crosby, Capt. C. S. Kent and Mrs. 
E. T. Bearse, after which the merry throng followed the order of 
dances till a late hour. The dance orders were decorated with a 
fine picture of the Town hall. 

Refreshments were served free during the entire evening by 
Caterers McDonald & Weber. 

The committee for the evening was Capt. Cyrus S. Kent, assisted 
by Mr. E. T. Bearse and Hon. Heman A. Harding. The matrons 
were Mrs Edith Farmer Harding, Mrs. Ellen T. Perry, Mrs Minnie 
L. Eldredge, Mrs. Rebecca A. Harding. Mrs. Agnes A. Weeks, Mrs. 
Nina M. George, Miss Cora Crosby. On the reception committee 
were Mrs. Agnes H. Fessenden, Miss Caroline I. Taylor, Miss Blanche 
R. Chace, Miss Josephine Atkins, Miss Harriett M. Gould, Miss Bertha 
M. Arey, Miss Georgia F. Perry, Miss Catalina L. Taylor. 

INVITED GUESTS. 

The following being officials of the commonwealth or county 
or editors of the newspapers of the county were invited to be 
present as guests of the town: 
Hon. and Mrs. Henry M. Percival, Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Swift, 

86 



Mr. and Mrs George W. Bowley, Mr. and Mrs. F. Percy Goss, 

Hon. and Mrs. Eben S. S, Keith, Mr. and Mrs. Alton P. Goss, 

Hon. and Mrs. Charles C. Paine, Mr. and Mrs. Edward L. Chase, 
Hon. and Mrs Edric Eldridge, Rev. and Mrs. A. W. G. Anderson, 
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest S. Bradford, Rev. Mr. and Mrs. S. L. Emery, 
Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Frederick C. Bisbee. 

The following, being veterans of the Civil war, were Invited to 
partake of the dinner, August 1, 1912: 

James S. Hamilton, Harrison F. Gould, 

Joseph N. Bloomer, Albert E. Snow, 

Russell W. Gifford, ! Charles Mullett, 

Samuel Hawes, Isaiah W. Bassett, 

David Clark, George A. Taylor, 

Rev. Eben Tirrell, , Capt. David H. Growell. 

The following, being over eighty years of age, were invited to 
be guests of the town at the dinner, August 1, 1912: 
Capt. Ephraim Smith, Mr. Ziba Nickerson, 

Capt. David H. Crowell, Mr. Frank Tinkham, 

Capt. George F. Harding, Mr. James Smith, 

Mrs. George F. Harding, Mr. Thomas Hardy, 

Mrs. Julia Harding, Mr. Barzillai Harding, 

Mrs. Collins Howes, ! ' Mr. Parker Nickerson, 

Mrs. Catherine Rogers, Mrs. Sarah B. Nickerson, 

Mrs. Mercy Bearse, ' Mrs. Marinda Nickerson, 

Mrs. Sarah Holway, Mrs. Elizabeth Ryder, 

Mrs. Susanna Ellis, Mrs. Louisa Burchell, 

Mrs. Benjamin Stinson, Mrs. Paulina Nickerson, 

Miss Laurietta Harding. 

87 



THE SUNDAY SERVICES 

SUNDAY, AUGUST 4TH, 1912. 

On the Sunday next following the celebration, services commem- 
orative of the town's anniversary were held morning, afternoon and 
evening as follows: 

MORNING SERVICE. 

The morning service was held in the Methodist Episcopal 
church (the other churches of the town uniting). Rev. Frederick 
A. Bisbee, D. D., of the Universalist church offered prayer and Rev. 
Samuel H. Emery of the Gongregationalist church preached the an- 
niversary sermon. Mrs. Owen A. O'Neil presided at the organ, there 
was a vocal solo by Mr. E. L. Zeis of Newton and quartette smg- 
ing by Mr. L. W. D. Eldredge, Mr. C. W. Sherman, Miss Blanche 
Chase and Miss Georgia F. Perry. 

THE SERMON OF REV. SAMUEL H. EMERY. 

During the past week it has been our pleasure to welcome to 
Chatham, men and women the roots of whose lives run back into 
the soil of this peninsula. They came to rehearse with us the 
scenes of the past, and to take an active part in paying tribute to 
those ancestors who wrought as pioneers, laying the foundations of 
those institutions which have been the strength and gloiy of our 
community for 200 years,— institutions that had much to do in the 
forming of the charactei-s of those who are filling worthy careers, 
proving worthy children of a godly ancestry, and reflecting credit 
and glory upon the fair name of Chatham. 

88 



I 



First among the factors which have wrought, in the formation 
of right characters, the strength of community life, is the Church. 

Congregationalism had much to do in preparing the soil and 
laying the foundations for those super-structures, the church, the 
home, the school, which grace and adorn our community life, and 
upon the perpetuity of which depends the future of our national 
life. What grand men and women they were, those fathers and 
mothers of o\n's; valuing their religion and freedom to worship 
God above home, friends, native land and even life itself. Finally 
forsaking their native land, they set their faces toward a new and 
untried experience, toward a land filled with far-reaching wilder- 
nesses, with savages and wild beasts. But they were men and 
women who feared God and knew no other fear. Every school 
boy is familiar with the story of the Mayflower and Plymouth rock, 
and knowing that those Christian Pilgrims first landed on these 
shores, knelt in prayer to the God of nations, and lifted up the 
cross as a sign of conquest, should thrill us with the thought that 
we stand today on consecrated ground. 

After a little time that Plymouth colony swarmed, and wher- 
ever those representatives went they carried their religious prin- 
ciples with them. Coming to Cape Cod, they located at Yarmouth, 
West Barnstable, Eastham, Chatham and all along the coast. The 
Congregational church at West Barnstable is the oldest Congrega- 
tional church edifice in this new world. The timbers in the frame 
came. from England as well as the Weather cock that surmounts 
the steeple, and so Congregationalism had a steady growth all 
along Cape Cod, having had much to do in the shaping of the des- 
tiny of this expanding municipality whose 2noth anniversary we 
have been celebrating. We cannot underestimate the influence of 
the church as a factor in the steady development of Chatham and 
the bringing of it to its present commanding influence among the 
communities of the commonwealth. Chatham was settled about the 
year 1664; retaining its Indian name, Monomoy, until the year 1712, 
when it was incorporated as the town of Chatham. William Nick- 
erson was the first settler of note, and he filled before the com- 

89 



ing of the first Christian minister, the triple office of town clerk, 
treasurer and religious teacher, showing that the religious element 
in community life was never neglected. Thus by precept and ex- 
ample, teaching the children of today that the truest and most 
permanent development and prosperity in community life must be 
based on a life of prayer and obedience to God. 

Beginning with Rev. Jonathan Vickery who was serving as min- 
ister in 1697, down to the time when first the Methodist Episcopal, 
then the Universalist, and then the Baptist churches were formed 
and abundantly used of God, the Congregational church furnishes 
us with a history of personal sacrifice and heroic endeavor which 
is inspiring and edifying to a high degree. 

Says another of sainted memory, whose Christian character was 
one of the greatest assets of which Chatham could boast, and whose 
benignant face looks down from the walls of the present church 
edifice on the activities of pastor and people, — "those ancient people 
were earnest Bible students and took the word of God trustfully 
and more literally than people do now. The country was not 
flooded with trashy books and papers, and in the absence of other 
reading the Bible was better read than at the present day and had 
a more controlling influence on the life and character than it has 
now." Something we would do w>3ll to consider. Believing that the 
church was the one essential and dominating factor in the right 
formation of character, they sacrificed and suffered for the propa- 
gation of their faith. The church they attended was without 
stoves or fireplaces. The old two-wheeled horsecarts in the absence 
of carriages were brought out on Sundays, and with straight-backed, 
flag-bottomed chairs for seats, the women came in large numbers. 
Foot stoves, a square perforated tin box secured in a wooden 
frame with a wire handle, were in use. These were filled with 
coals from the fire-place at home in the morning and at noon 
were replenished from the parson's spacious fire-place; and the 
whole day was given to prayer and the worship of God. In the 
home the father was a veritable priest of God, and the mother his 
sweet and patient hand-maiden, and their children were early 

90 



trained in loyalty to God and duty and they went down in ships 
to do business in great waters, into the professions and commer- 
cial life, with the fear of God in their hearts, and these sons and 
daughters have returned again and again, as you have at this 
time, with stories of conquest and high attainment to reflect added 
glory upon the fair name of Chatham. 

Are we today loyal to the church, the mother of every civic and 
religious blessing, as our fathers were? Are we teaching our chil- 
dren by precept and example that the ways of prosperity and 
character attainment are the ways of God? That they can become 
positive factors in purifying society and maintaining our national 
life, in ever increasing perfection, only as they receive Jesus Christ 
into the life? There are some things that would make me smile if 
they were not tragic in their nature; and these are the attempts 
of some men to establish a propaganda, who cannot clearly explain 
the propositions embodied therein; attempts to make by the use of 
legislative machinery all men alike, socially, commercially, industri- 
ally and spiritually. In this day of nationalism and socialism, in 
this day of prophecies concerning new eras, in this day of rest- 
lessness, bread-lines and associated charities, and a score of other 
things, it is imperative that we should recognize the fact that 
society can only be lifted up to the ideal, as by the grace of God. 

Through Jesus Christ we bring society in line with those prin- 
ciples which shall govern that glorious commonwealth of God in 
its perfection, when the day of God shall shine upon this darkened 
world of ours. 

We must not in our plans, as the founders of Chatham did not 
in their plans and theories, forget to emphasize the fact that if 
the world is ever to be purified, and if social problems are ever to 
be solved, and if character is to be rightly formed, it must be 
through the reception of Jesus Christ, and loyalty to the church, 
the pillar and ground of the truth. I ask you for the future weal 
of Chatham, to be true and loyal supporters of the churches rep- 
resented here, as I would ask you to be loyal to the churches else- 
where. What testimonies could some of you raise to their influence 

91 



for good in your lives. Says another, "A few years ago after hav- 
ing been away for some years, 1 went back to the home of my 
youth. As we stood and looked at the hills, we really concluded 
that the water had washed them down, and they were not as high 
as they used to be; and the creek that used to seem so big and 
deep was surely now fified up, for it was only a tiny brook with a 
little water in it. Then, when I looked at the old church, that 
used to seem so large to me, and when I thought of the long row 
of teams that used to stand at the hitch-rack, it all seemed so 
different. That night they asked me to preach, and when we went 
into the church the seats did not seem nearly as long as they 
used to, nor the room so large. As I entered the pulpit and we 
went through the service, there was a solemnity about it that deep- 
ly impressed me. When I thought of the men of God who had 
prayed around that altar, and who in that very altar had knelt 
down beside me, and prayed for me, and when I recalled liow they 
talked to me and tried in their humble way to point me to the 
Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, the place 
became very sacred to me." Men of Chatham past and present, I 
ask you, if you have wandered in your allegiance, to permit the 
memory of hallowed scenes to lead you back in loyalty to the 
church. 

2d, the Home. Our fathers believed tiiat the hearth-stone was 
the chief cornerstone in civil government; the very foundation of 
all that is best in American life. And there are tears in my heart 
when I pronoimce the word. Who among us here this morning can 
conceive of, and give expression in words to the moulding, direct- 
ing influence of the home in the foi'mation of our characters, and 
in any success we may have mad? in life, and yet it is a deplor- 
able fact, and one that menaces all that is best in ibis greatest 
republic in the earth, that the American home is passing. Our 
restlessness, which is becoming oie of our chief characteristics, is 
driving men and women to living in hotels, railway trains and on 
the great ocean-carrying steamships of the world. The maintenance 
of the American home, such as our fathers established and loved 

92 



with all their hallowed and moulding influences, is necessary to 
the future welfare and glory of community and nation. Show me 
the kind of homes that go to make up a nation, and I will tell 
you something of the kind of government you may expect. Let me 
hear the murmur at night around the fireside, and I can form some 
idea of the community life. The highest form of government must 
be founded upon the best kind of homes. Remember and never 
forget that our government was founded on the kind of homes 
originally built and fostered by the pioneers of Chatham. 

The great leaders past and present of church and state had 
their characters formed in the home. The child becomes so sat- 
urated with the teachings and holy influences of his early home life 
that he can never cast them off. He may become reckless and 
seemingly indifferent for a time, but memory links him with his 
childhood days and their hallowed associations. Even in the midst 
of a wicked life he finds himself at times carried back in memory 
to the glow of the old home altar, on which the fire never burned 
out, and in the midnight hour when he again hears the music of 
mother's voice, again is thrilled and inspired to nobility by her 
loving touch. Others have described the scene, and imagination 
will furnish the details, how overtaken by misfortune, poverty and 
sickness, John Howard Payne, that man without a country, went 
staggering down the streets of Paris toward the garret where he 
slept. The sleet drove in his face, the cold pierced his cloak. 
Suddenly a door opened, and the light streamed forth on the street, 
and the glow and warmth perfumed the air. Into the arms of 
the man standing on the steps leaped happy children, while the 
beaming mother stretched forth her babe. In a moment the door 
closed, the light faded into darkness, and the youth stood again in 
the cold and darkness little dreaming he was learning by suffering 
what he was to teach in song. That night shivering beside his 
table the youth lighted his candle; although tears fell like rain- 
drops, his heart went bounding across the seas, for he knew there 
was no place like home. He saw the old homestead, crossed its 
threshold; he saw again the sw^et smile of mother long since dead; 

93 



heard the voice of father; and so with streaming eyes and leaping 
heart and shining face he saw the vision splendid and wrote: — 

"Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, 
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home; 
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there, 
Which, seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere. 

An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain, 

give me my lowly thatched cottage again, 

The birds singing gaily, that came at my call, 

And with them, God's peace, which is dearer than all. 

Home, home, sweet, sweet heme, 

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home." 

Let us cherish in memory the old home life, and perpetuate it 
in the present as a mighty factor in character building. 

3d, the School. The founders of Chatham not only attended to 
the religious training of their children through competent teachers 
■ — most of their ministers being graduates of Harvard college; they 
established and supported the best schools they could afford. And 
representative men and women of Chatham, whom the busy world 
out yonder delights to honor because of their characters and faith- 
fulness in service, can say and say truthfully that they received 
their first inspiration and direction to commercial and professional 
life from the public schools of their native town which have had 
a steady growth in all our history, showing that they are no insig- 
nificant factor in the making of men and the revolutionizing of 
society. 

And so I enter a plea for a liberal support and safeguarding of 
our schools, as a contributing factor in the moulding of character 
and the protection of the state. 

When a great and wise teacher seeks to mould character aright 
and revolutionize society, he looks to the children. Suffer, he says, 
the little children to come unto me, for of such little ones must be 

94 



made the new and better citizens; for the world knows only too 
well that it is hard, as Nicodemus said, for a man when he is old 
to be born again,— but the plastic child is father to the man. The 
world knows well it is hard to shape and bend the full-grown tree; 
but as the twig is bent, so shall the tree incline. Childhood is the 
fresh moist clay upon the potter's wheel of time and circumstance 
— of environment and education; but when the clay is old and 
hard, it is difficult to soften and mould the stiff-necked generation 
of adults. Like all great teachers Jesus clearly recognized this 
supreme importance of childhood in the regeneration and salvation 
of mankind which he sought to achieve. No one has shown more 
eagerness to teach children than He, or more eagerness to learn 
from them. No one has proclaimed more clearly the awful retribu- 
tion which surely awaits on those who cause the little ones to 
offend. The children are the hope of the future and the saviours 
of mankind. 

Ignorance is more to be feared than the famine and the pes- 
tilence. Woe unto the municipality which neglects its schools. The 
children the the saviours of mankind; woe unto that municipality 
that neglects its playgrounds and its homes and leaves them to the 
influence of vicious parents to be taught of harlots, drunkards and 
mean men. There are some things that human experience has 
taught with unmistakable clearness at all times and all ages, 
wherever the great experiment of civilization has been tried. And 
all of these universal verdicts of human experience is this,— the 
education of children is the condition of self-preservation; the 
guarantee of progress; a defective training of the young means a 
degenerate social system; ignorance is the fruitful mother of crime, 
misery, disease, political decay and social suicide. Oh! I wish I 
could speak fittingly of these factors that have contributed to pro- 
duce the men who are the deep down strength of community life! 
Men and brethren, the children of this municipality are in your 
charge. Education is what they have a right to expect of you, and 
what you have the privilege and duty of giving to them. 

Education, I say, and education means harmonious physical, 

95 



mental and moral training. Until the physical, mental and moral 
education of the young in this community is amply provided for, 
which it is not, other forms of expenditure which minister to com- 
fort, or luxury, or show, are immoral, are heartless; they are the 
shameless and selfish indulgence of unnatural parents, who have 
lost the key to true happiness and neglected their children for 
frivolous and sordid forms of selfish indulgence. 

And so in the name of philanthropy, in the name of politics, 
in the name of religion, and for the sake of an all-around sym- 
metrical character development, I bring your attention to these 
three contributing factors in character building, the church, the 
home, the school; factors that harve proved efficient in the past in 
laying foundations, and in the present in making Chatham what it 
is, in influence for good, through the characters rightly formed, of 
those men and women who represent her at home and abroad. 

God save Chatham, God save the Commonwealth of Massachu- 
setts. Amen. 

VESPER SERVICE. 

In the afternoon a vesper service, particularly for the chil- 
dren, was held in the Universalist church, at which the following 
program was presented: 

Organ, selected, ' Mrs. Owen A. O'Neil. 

Chorus, Columbia, D. T. Shaw 

Children's Choir. 
Prayer, Dr. Frederick A. Bisbee, D. D. 

Solo, Chorister, A. S. Sullivan 

Miss Estelle Atwood. 
Reading, Cape Cod Shores, Lincoln 

Miss Blanche Edwards. 
Remarks, Dr. Frederick A. Bisbee, D. D. 

Solo, selected. Miss Beatrice Mallows. 

Remarks, Dr. Benjamin D. Gifford. 

96 



America, S. F. Smith 

Children. 

The remarks of Dr. Bisbee were impromptu and no report of 
them was made. They were in substance as follows: 

ADDRESS OF DR. BISBEE. 

It is well that the managers of this centennial celebration so 
far recognized the children as to hold this service especially for 
them, for the child is the biggest and most important fact in his- 
tory; he is the connecting link, clasping with one hand the cen- 
turies which have past, and with the other the centuries which are 
coming. 

And therefore, children, you are not the smallest but the big- 
gest factor in this observance of the town's two hundred years of 
life. You may think that you who are here, speaking your little 
piece, and singing your little song, are very young, only five or 
ten or fifteen years old, but really you are two hundred years old, 
and when these older people to whom you are looking up today, 
are all gone and you are the men and the women, the officers of 
the town and the deacons and elders in the churches, then you 
may be two hundred and fifty years old! It sounds rather funny 
to you to speak of "Deacon Charley," and "Selectman Tom," but 
the time is only a few years off, when you are going to fill all 
these important places, and therefore there is a lesson for you to 
learn in this celebration. 

Your fathers and grandfathers and great-grandfathers, and your 
mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers, made the cen- 
turies that are past; you are to make the century that is coming, 
and one hundred years from now the little -children are going to 
gather in the church at their celebration, and think over the 
things you have said and you have done. You are looking back 
with gratitude today for all that was done for you in the past;— 
how will the future look back to you? 

J^on't you see, children, that you are the greatest people in 

97 



this celebration, for when we older ones are gone, as we must be 
before many years, you are going to touch our hands in memory 
and the hands of the little children of your coming day, with hope, 
and the everlasting current of God's great purpose in life, un- 
broken, will flow on through you to its perfect consummation. 

ADDRESS OF DR. B. D. GIFFORD. 

Dr. Gifford took for his subject, The Advantages of Chatham 
as a Health Resort. His address follows. 

One thing above all others, which human beings must have to 
enjoy their lives, is health. Without this, life is hardly worth liv- 
ing. Today the mad race for money ruins many a man's health 
and he is cast ashore on life's tide, a crippled human wreck. 

Then he tries to do what he should have done before, — that is, 
to plant himself on the sure foundation of right physical living. 
Every man should arrange his business so that he can use a part 
of his time to recuperate and see to it that his health is looked 
after, that he may start in again with renewed energy. He has 
got to do this ill some locality that will give him the needed sur- 
roundings, the necessary qualities of those material things Ihat 
nature must supply. 

Good food, though essential, is but a part of this equipment. 
The most of those who suffer in health from impure surroundings 
are those who live in cities. The health of those who dwell there 
is constantly put in jeopardy by the unhealthy conditions of the 
atmosphere they breathe. Everyone has experienced this— the germ 
laden air that modern business creates. The traffic and travel that 
is a necessary part of city business, makes it a serious matter for 
one to travel the streets. The exposure to dust and dirt of every 
form of perishable food-stuffs is another element of danger. Laws 
are required now to protect the public against such sources of 
disease— and those who sell such food stuffs are constantly trying 
to thwart the boards of health in their efforts. 

As I said before, men owe it to themselves to get out of such 

98 



morbific influences, if they would save their health. Nature is 
very kind. She will undo many damages if given a chance. This 
leads me to say that nowhere, I believe, in this country are there 
better facilities for regaining health, strength — and a good supply of 
rich, red blood— than here on Cape Cod. I won't say Chatham alone, 
for that would be unfair to our sister towns, but among those* 
towns I think Chatham stands pre-eminent as a restorer of health. 

We have, first of all, what cities can never give their people 
and that is a full and generous supply of the choicest of pure 
fresh air. In front of us off the coast is the broad Atlantic ocean, 
which sends in to us the richest of breezes, laden with life-giving 
oxygen and ozone; not only to east but north, south and west of 
us, arms' of the Atlantic reach in almost every direction, so that it 
is impossible to escape a rich breeze, no matter where you stop in 
- this town. Foul air is out of the question here, unless people are 
careless and keep their windows closed. But they are learning the 
value of clean air now, and I find it much less difficult than for- 
merly to induce people to keep their windows open. 

The low mortality of Chatham among people in the middle 
period of life is a most encouraging sign and an evidence of the 
healthfulness of Chatham as a place to live in. During the last 
five years there have been 133 deaths: of this number 71 have 
been over 70 years of age and many as much as 80 to 90 years. 
These deaths have been of those who have spent almost their en- 
tire lives in Chatham. 

Children almost never die here. During the five years there was 
only 1 under 2 years of age and almost none during the entire 
childhood life. I have had cholera infantum cases brought here 
from cities during the warm months, apparently hopelessly sick, 
but who speedily recovered owing to the rich qualities of the cool, 
germ-free breezes which envelope our town. 

The absence of contagious diseases—the freedom from typhoid, 
fi'oin diphtheria and scarlet fever— is most mark.'.I. Even that 



dreaded white plague, consumption, has in great measure disap- 
peared, cases of which are now comparatively rare. 

The advantages of salt sea bathing, and the purity of our water 
are other factors that are potent as instrumentalities for the res- 
toration of impaired health and the prolongation of life to a serene 
old age. 

» Another thing which I am impelled to say is, that those who 
come here to live for longer or shorter, will find the people of 
this town a law-abiding, honest and generous set of folks. In 
trouble of any kind they are first and foremost in their desire to 
act the good Samaritan. They are glad to have people new to 
them come and make their homes here. The experiences of the 
past will prove that our new residents appreciate this and be- 
come much attached to their new home down here by the sea, 
and look forward with eager anticipation to the season that shall 
bring them here again. 

EVENING SERVICE. 

The service on Sunday evening took the form of a sacred 
concert, which was held in the Methodist Episcopal church. The 
program is given below. 



Organ, selected. 
Anthem, I Will Magnify, 

Choir. 
Solo, It Is Enough, 

Mr. Clarence L. Hay. 
Organ, selected. 
Quartette, Home Light, 

Miss Blanche Chace, Mr. Alfred Capen, 
Miss Georgia F. Perry, Mr. C. W. Sherman. 
Solo, selected, Mrs. R. H. Warren. 

Solo, Consider and Hear Me, Alfred Wooler 

Mr. E. L. Zeis. 



Mrs. H. D. Newton. 
William R. Spence 

Mendelssohn 

Mr. R. H. Warren. 
J. C. Macy 



100 



Organ, selected, Mr. R. H. Warren. 

Solo, In the Gross of Christ I Glory, R. M. Stutts 

Miss Blanche Chace. 

Anthem, Draw Me to Thee, George B. Nevin 

The musical program for Sunday, as well as for the preceding 
Thursday, was under the supervision of Miss Georgia F. Perry, 
formerly of this town, to whose efforts is due much of the success 
of the musical part of the celebration. 

101 



HISTORIC SITES MARKED. 

The committee on historic sites caused to be erected about 
twenty signs, marking places of historic interest in the town. These 
signs, at the suggestion of various persons, both natives and sum- 
mer residents, were left standing for several months after the cel- 
ebration, except in a few instances where the occupants of the 
premises removed them. The locations of these signs and the 
inscriptions thereon were as follows: 

CHATHAMPORT. 

1. "Approximate site of the house of William Nickerson, the 
first settler." — Opposite the Christopher Ryder house. 

ON NORTH CHATHAM ROAD. 

2. Approximate location of the farm of Menekish, the last In- 
dian sachem of Monomoit." — At the top of Thayer's Hill, so-called. 

3. "This house was formerly Granville Seminary." — At "Kendall 
Green." 

CHATHAM. 

4. "Site of Chatham Academy, 1829-1850." — Nearly opposite the 
Town hall. 

5. "Site of the old Richard Sears residence. The Sears farm 
originally extended from the Oyster pond east to the ocean. The 
ancestors of the David Sears family, an old and prominent Boston 
family, lived here." — At the Congregationalist parsonage. 

6. "Former estate of Dr. E, W. Carpenter, grandfather of the 
present Countess Sierstorpff of Silesia, Germany, a well-known 

102 



member of the German nobility,"— At the D. W. Nickcrson place 
near the library. 

7. "Late residence of Rear Admiral Charles H. Rockwell, U. S. 
N." — At the Rockwell residence. 

8. "Former residence of Hon. Marcellus Eldredge, donor of the 
Eldredge Public Library." — Next to Hotel Mattaquason. 

9. "Forty years ago this road extended about 250 feet east from 
its present terminus and ended at some wharves, where consider- 
able business was done, and where there Was an excellent harbor 
for ships." — Opposite the H. Fisher Eldredge house. 

10. "The birthplace of Hon. Alpheus Hardy, late of Boston, 
near the old wharves."— Opposite the H. Fisher Eldredge house. 

11. "About nine miles southeast from this place are the shoals 
of Pollock Rip, which turned the Mayflower back to Provincetown 
harbor and caused the Pilgrim fathers to settle at Plymouth, 
instead of on the Jersey coast, their original destination."— Near 
Chatham Lights. 

12. "Site of the old Chatham Lights. . . Forty years ago these 
lighthouses were distant about -400 feet from the shore. The in- 
tervening land has been washed away by the ocean." — Near the 
present Chatham Lights. 

STAGE HARBOR. 

13. "In this locality, Champlain, the noted explorer, and a par- 
ty of Frenchmen, spent a fortnight, in the year 1606. They had 
several skirmishes with the Indians and lost four of their party. 
They were the first white men to land on these shores."— Near 
the residence late of Nathaniel Hawes. 

14. "Last survivor of the old wind mills for grinding grain."— 
At the old mill. 

15. "Atwood house, the oldest house in tUe town, probably built 
by Capt. Joseph Atwood about 1750."— At the old Atwood house. 

103 



WEST CHATHAM. 

16. "Site of the first church." — In the south part of the old 
cemeteries. 

17. "Site of first parsonage." — South from the old cemeteries. 

18. "Site of second parsonage." — In or near the north part of 
the old cemeteries. 

19. "Probable site of first tavern."— Near the H. L. Emery 
house. 

20. "Site of the second church." — In front of the north part of 
the old cemeteries. 

N. B. Several sites, on account of their remoteness from the 
village and scene of the celebration, were not marked by the com- 
mittee, notably the site of the old Indian meetinghouse and Indian 
burial ground within the town line at East Harwich, and the old 
ship yards at Nickerson's Neck and at the Old Harbor. 

104 



A LIST OF 



RESIDENCES, ETC., DECORATED FOR THE CELEBRATION. 



H. Fisher Eldredge, 

Andrew Harding, 

Jesse L. Tuttle, 

Dill Cottages, 

Mrs. Almena T, Kent, 

Monomoyick Inn, 

Joseph C. Eldredge stable, 

Ziba Nickerson, 

Simeon Nickerson, 

Marcus W, Howard store, 

Marcus W, Howard house, 

Frank N. Kelley store, 

Oscar E. Howard, 

Jesse L. Tuttle store. 

Dr. B. D. Gifford, 

Kimbal R. Howes store, 

Mrs. Lura S. Reed, 

L. Sidney Atwood store, 

Carmi Shattuck, 

Mrs. Agnes A. Weeks, 

Dr. A. G. Gigger store, 

Alfred C. Harding store, 

Elmer E. Emery store, 

Richard B. Harding, 

David E. Howes store, 

Stephen A. Rich & Son, 



Methodist Episcopal church, 

Eldredge Public library, 

Chester S. Bearse, 

John J. Howes, 

Sadie Nickerson store, 

Erastus T. Bearse, 

Arthur W. Kendrick store, 

Universalist church, 

Congregationalist church, 

D. Eugene Bearse store, 

Eldredge House, 

Augustus L. Hardy, 

Bearse garage, 

Heman A. Harding, 

William C. Smith, 

Masonic hall, 

Joseph W. Nickerson, 

Augustus C. Ellis, 

Kendall Green, 

Joshua A. Nickerson, 

Oscar C. Nickerson, 

Owen O'Neil, 

Hawthorn House, 

Elijah Kent, 

Henry E. Jepson, 

Cyrus S. Kent, 



105 



Mrs, Dora A. Jones, 
Doane & Lewis, 
John J, Howes store, 
Soldier's monument. 
Town hall. 

High school building, 
David E. Howes, 
Alfred G. Harding, 
John H. Taylor, 
Charles F. Holmes, 
Cyrenus Ellis, 
Oliver E. Eldredge, 
George A. Taylor, 



George H. Nickerson, 2nd., 

L. Sidney Atwood, 

Mrs. Agnes R. Fuller, 

Charles A. Howes, 

Mrs. Ellen T. Perry, 

Zidon C. Long, 

Benjamin H. Buck, 

H. M. George, 

E. A. Davis, 

Carol Wight, 

W. C. T. U. Rest tent, 

C. H. Smallhoff studio, 

Hotel Mattaquason. 



106 



1 



FINANCIAL STATEMENT. 

RECEIPTS. 

From individual contributions as follows: 
(a) From friends: 



Norfolk Hunt club, 

Charles J. Paine, Jr., 

Charles L. Allen, 

Henry Wardwell, 

Oscar Greenwood, 

.lames K. Crosble, 

Frank G. Wood, 

William S. Harding, 

B. O. Tilden, 

Loring G. Williams. 

Edward M. Bowman, 

.1. B. Hallett, 

R. F. Felt, 

G, R. S. Kellen, 

R. G. Greene, 

Dr. Albert F. Blaisdell, 

L. C. Hartwell Decorating Co., 

Mass. Humane society, 

H. Edwards, 

Ira J. Haskell, 

Cashy 



$100.00 
5.or 

10.00 
5.00 
1.00 

10.00 

10.00 
3.00 

10.00 
2.00 

10.00 
5.00 
2.00 
5.00 
2.00 
5.00 
2.00 

21.00 
1.00 
5.00 
3.00 



$217.00 



107 



5.00 
50.00 

5.00 
10.00 



(b) From summer residents not natives: 

Edward H. Cutler, $25.00 

Henry Penn>i)acker, 1.00 
A. D. Early, 

Edward and I. A. Davis, 
H. W. Cutis, 
Geo. T. Cruft, ^ 

Charles Merriam, 10.00 

M. S. Dunbar, 10.00 

Elijah Kent, 25.00 

Mrs. George T. Rockwell, 5.00 

Everett Yeaw, lO.oo 

J. K. Vincent, lO.oo 

Charles H. Jones, 25.00 

S. Willard Thayer, 20.00 

Edward Thayer, lO.oo 

William H. Barclay, 0.00 

W. H. Wentworth, 5,00 

H. M. George, 5_00 

Franklin J. Hamblin, 10,00 

Frederick Wilkey, 20.00 

Fred H. Loveland, lO.oo 

Nelson J. Floyd, 5,00 

Robert Rogers, 10.00 

Miss Marion S. Rogers, 1,00 

E. P. Rogers, 5 Oo 

Mrs. Fannie Shattuck, 10.00 

W, H. Horton, lOO 



(c) From summor residonfs, natives: 

Mrs. Mary R. Stewart, $5.00 

C. Otis Rockwell, 5^0 



309.00 



108 



Mrs. Harriet 0. Vincent, 3.00 

Mrs. J. Anne Crosby, 3.00 

Silmon G. Chase, 10.00 

H. Fisher Eldredge, 25.00 

Mrs. Barbara C. Nickerson, 10.00 

Howes Brothers, 125.00 

Henry E. Jepson, 20.00 

Thomas W. Rogers, 25.00 

Mrs. Addie Tappan, 3.00 
Miss Emily Nickerson, 2.00 



(d) From natives, not residents: 

Miss Cleora Loveland, §5.00 

Fayette Eldredge, 1-00 

John W. Hammond, 10.00 

Herbert H. Crowell, 1.00 

Lorenzo M. Crowell, 1-00 

Thomas E. Hawes, 1-00 

Collins B. Taylor, 10.00 

James W. Hawes, 25.00 

Silas H. Harding, 5.00 

Dr. T. O. Loveland, 10.00 

Mrs. W. P. Ryder, 5.00 

Daniel H. Howes, 10.00 

A. R. Crosby, 5.00 

George Hammond, 2.00 

J. D. Anderson, 10.00 

D. Webster Hawes, 5.00 

Charles F. Simmons, 5.00 

Mrs. Louella Mayo Nickerson, 5.00 

Leforest Smith, 5.00 

Manchester Bearse, 1-00 

Herbert Mayo, 2.00 

Zenas Taylor, 1-00 



109 



216.00 



125.00 



(e) From residents, not natives: 



Charles S. Train, 



S. B. Mayo, 
A. Hunter, 
S. D. Rich & Son, 
J. P. Farmer, 



Carl W. Sherman, 



$2.00 



George W. Hopkins, 2.00 

Mrs. Charles Mullett, ^-^^ 



l.OOr 

.50 

2.00 

3.00 



Mrs. Susan M. Gould, 2.00 

Owen O'Neil, 2.00 

Oscar C. Nickerson, ^^-^ 

Joseph W. Nickerson, . ^'^ 

Edward Kendrick, ^-^^ 

Dr. B. D. Gifford, ^^-^^ 

Charles F. Holmes, ^^-^^ 

Alonzo F. Cahoon, ^ ^-^^ 

Charles A. Vose, ^'^^ 

Charles M. Nickerson, '^•^^^ 

George H. Nickerson, 2.00 

Dr. A. G. Gigger, 2.00 

Joshua A. Nickerson, ^^-^^ 



,00 



Carmi H. Shattuck, ^-^^ 

J. Murray Baker, ^-^^ 

F. P. O'Brien, ^^'^^ 

Wilbur T. Crowell, ^-^^ 

Sparrow M. Young, ^-^^ 



110 



98.50 



(f) From native residents: 

Mrs. Almena T. Kent, $5.00 

Mrs. Grace M. Vincent, 1.00 

Charles Mullett, 2.00 

Samuel Dill, - 1.00 

Charles H. Howes, .50 

Wilbur H. Patterson, 1.00 

Abiel G. Smith, 1.00 

Mrs. Eliza L. Hallett, 1.00 

Mrs. Phebe H. Eldridge, 1.00 

Mrs. N. A. Bearse, 1.00 

Luther E. Hammond, 1.00 

William T. Holway, 2.00 

Benjamin L. Jones, 1.00 

Zenas W. Hawes, 1.00 

Mrs. Zenas W, Hawes, 1.00 

Mrs. Lucy Brown, 1.00 

Miss Lucy Brown, .50 

Isaac L. Hammond, .50 

Miss Ella M. Loveland, 1.00 

Zenas H. Kendrick, 2.00 

Clarence W. Howes, 1.00 

Nathaniel E. Kendrick, 1.00 

Augustus L. Hardy, 5.00 

Richard B. Harding, 5.00 

Seymour W. Harding, 2.00 

Cyrenus Ellis, 5.00 

Andrew H. Bearse, 1.00 

George S. Atwood, 5.00 

Herman Taylor, 5.00 

Mrs. Mary A. Young, 2.00 

Philip M. Dill, 2.00 

Mj^s. M. A. Hammond, 1.00 



111 



Chester S. Bearse, 
L. Sidney Atwood, 
Erastus T. Bearse, 
Mrs. Julia Eldredge, 
H. P. Doane, 
Cyrus S. Kent, 
Oeorge H. Nickerson, 3d, 
Heman A. Harding, 
Marcus W. Howard, 
Benjamin 0. Eldredge, 
Augustus C. Ellis, 
Alvin Z. Atkins, 
Alfred C. Harding, 
Dr. Charles A. Pratt, 
David E. Howes, 
George W. Rogers, 
John J. Howes, 
John H. Harding, 
Oscar E. Howard, 
George N. Bearse, 
J. Clement Eldredge, 
Heman F. Chase, 
Willis Harding, 
Henry Harding, 
S. W. Gould, 
Benjamin D. Gould, 
R. G. Young, 
N. A. Buck, 
C. A. Freeman, 
Marcus Smith, 
R. H. Gould, 
Samuel Hawes, 
N. E. Harding, 



3.00 
5.00 
5.00 
1.00 
2.00 
5.00 
10.00 
10.00 
5.00 
1.00 
9.00 
5.00 
3.00 
2.00 
2.00 
1.00 
5.00 
1.00 
2.00 
3.00 
1.00 
1.00 
1.00 
1.00 
1.00 
1.00 
1.00 
1,00 
10.00 
1.00 
1.00 
2.00 
1.00 



112 



Z. E. Harding, 
Mrs. Irene J. Boyd, 
Doane & Lewis, 
Newton J. Flinn, 
L. W. D. Eldredge, 
Mrs. M. E. Kelley, . 
Barzillai Eldredge, 
Miss Betsey A. Hardy, 
Cash (Friend), 
Charles R. Nickerson, 
Fred R. Eldredge, 
Austin Snow, 
William C. Smith, 
William L. Nickerson, 
Ephraim Smith, 
Miss Bertha M. Arey, 
Arthur W. Kendrick, 
Albert Kendrick, 
Miss Grace F. Hardy, 
Daniel C. Harding, 
D, Eugene Bearse, 
Bradford N. Bloomer, 



1.00 
5.00 
2.00 
1.00 
5.00 
2.00 
1.00 
3.00 
2.00 
1.00 
1.00 

.50 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
3.00 
2.00 
2.00 
1.00 
1.00 
1.00 

.50 



214.50 



Total individual contributions, 



$1199.00 



From tbe Town of Chatham, appropriation. 



$ 750.00 



A. C. Harding, sale of badges, pennants, etc. 
George H. Nickerson, 2d, sale of two tents, 
E. T. Bearse, dinner tickets sold, etc., 
Capt. G. S. Kent, ball tickets sold, 
E. T. Bearse, stationery sold, 
H. A. Harding, account of ball. 



100.75 

10.90 

803.75 

252.00 

19.98 

2.00 



113 



J. J. Howes, rebate on canes, 2.72 

Northern Commission Co., discount on pennants, .05 

George H. Nickerson, 2d, land rent permit§, 25.00 

Total receipts, $3166.75 



EXPENDITURES. 



By committee on tents, grounds and appurtenances: 

C. H. Batchelder, tents and one man five days, $215.00 

C. A. Howes, tents, 23.15 
Emily S. Shattuck, board of G. H. Batchelder's 

man, . 12.50 
J. W. F. Doane, labor preparing and restoring 

grounds, 18.25 

Herman Taylor, labor, 6.20 

Cyrenus Ellis, labor and carting, 3.00 

George M. Eldredge, labor and carting, 4.00 

Oscar G. Nickerson, lumber spoiled in use, 2.06 

L. Sidney Atwood, supplies, .25 

F. B. & F. P. Goss, printing signs, 1.35 

A. G. Ellis, carting tents» 1.60 



By parade committee: 

Oscar G. Nickerson, sundry expenses, $75.25 
L. Sidney Atwood, 17 dinner tickets for aged 

people, 16.50 

D. G. Gill, cambric for scliool cliildron, 8.12 



114 



.$287.30 



99.87 



By dinner committee: 
N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R. Co., freight, 
Adams Express Co., express, 
McDonald, Weber Co., caterers, 
F. B. & F. P. Goss, printing, 
Parker Nickerson, transportation, 

Herman Taylor, labor on tables, 

J. Lewis Tuttle, carting, 

George H. Eldredge, carting and labor, 

J. W. F. Doane, carting tank and water, 

A. \V. Edwards, labor, 

E. T. Bearse, sundry account, 

Chatham Monitor, advertisement for waiters, 

.J. P. McKay, carting, 



$32.68 
26.83 
875.93 
5.75 
2.75 
1.75 
12.25 
15.30 
8.00 
4.88 
33.69 
1.40 
1.00 



1022.21 



By committee on speakers: 



C. A. Freeman, 7 dinner tickets for speakers and 
their wives. 
By basket ball committee: 
Bertha M. Arey, expenses, 
By baseball committee: 
H Keno Marble, expenses of home team, *«3b.ou 

Joshua A. Nickerson, expenses of visitmg ^^^^^^ 

teams. 



7.00 
17.25 



106.99 



By old home social and reception committee: 



George S. Bearse, automobile hire, 
J. Lewis Tuttle, carting, 
James S. Hamilton, cleaning hall, 
F. B. & F. P. Goss, printing. 
Loose Wiles Biscuit Co., crackers, 



$ 2.25 

4.50 

12.00 

6.30 

15.88 



115 



Emily S. Shattupk, sunrlry expenses, 10.40 

Bain Bros., cigars, 7.00 

L. Sidney Atwood, sundries, 15.21 



By water carnival committee: 

H. A. Harding, dinners and ball tickets for 

Life Saving service crews, etc., $ 11.98 

J. W. Nickerson, carting pilot boats, 18.00 

A. H. Bearse, use of mast and labor, 21.38 

Prizes paid and use of boats, 126.79 



By reception and ball committee: 

N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R., freight, $ 1.50 

Adams Express Co., express, 6.44 

McDonald Weber Co., refreshments, 95.40 

G. S. Kent, sundry expenses, 7.48 

F. B. & F. P. Goss, printing, 26.16 



By music committee: 

Salem Cadet band, services, $268.45 

Salem Cadet band, transportation, ' 84.00 

James F. Clark, labor, 8.29 

L. 01 in Eldredge, board of band, 57.00 

Emily S. Shattuck, board of band, 10.00 

Carrie Panno, board of band, 4.00 

Parker Nickerson, transportation, 1.25 

Oscar C. Nickerson, lumber spoiled in use, 16.13 



116 



73.54 



178.15 



136.98 



449.12 



By decorations committee: 

American Decorating Co., $180.00 

John J. Howes, supplies, .75 

S. W. Harding, supplies, 1.50 

Joseph G. Eldredge, carting, 3.00 

Lake Amusement Co., electric lights, 15.00 
A. C. Harding, history of Chatham for painter, 1.00 



By police committee: 

Elisha H. Bearse, deputy sheriff, $ 5.00 

John J. Maloney, deputy sheriff, , 13.70 

James Boland, deputy sheriff, ' 12.45 

Jonathan Eldredge, deputy sheriff, 10.00 

A. W. Baker, constable, 8.00 

James S. Hamilton, constable, 6.00 
Joshua A, Nickerson, dinners and lunches 

for officers, 8.75 



By historic sites committee: 

B. H. Buck, painting markers, $ 42.00 

William C. Smith, supplies, .45 



By printing and advertising committee: 

F. B. & F. P. Goss, printing, $ 87.46 

F. B. & F. P. Goss, Sunday programs, 14.50 
Theodore Bearse, automobile, distributing posters, 2.00 

N. A. Eldredge, stamps and wrappers, 5.18 
Blanche R. Chase, music and postage, Sunday 

services, 2.88 



117 



201.25 



63.90 



42.45 



112.02 



By committee on souvenirs and badges: 

Northern Commission Co., canes and pennants, $ 15.00 

Wliiteliead Hoag Co., stickpins and badges, 146.41 

A. C. Harding, postage and express, 3.09 



164.50 



By committee on reception of invited guests: 

J, C. Eldredge, carriages, » $ 9.00 

Joshua A. Nickerson, dinner tickets and trans- 
portation, 23.00 

32.00 

For veterans of Civil war: 
R. A. Nickerson, dinner tickets and postage, 7.14 

George W. Bloomer, secretary, postcards and printing, 21.75 

Total expenditures, • $3023.38 

Total receipts as above, $3166.75 

Total expenditures as above, 3023.38 

Balance on hand, $ 143.37 

118 



CONCLUSION. 

In the foregoing pages, your committee have sought to present 
a full, accurate and impartial account of the celebration in its 
various phases. If there are any mistakes, or if anyone has not 
received due credit for his or her efforts, the oversight was not 
intentional and is regretted. The entire balance of $143.00 in the 
hands of the treasurer will be needed to pay the expenses of 
printing this report, the bill for printing and illustrations, without 
binding, being probably more than that amount. We are indebted 
to the Richardson studio for the photographs from which the illus- 
trations are made, and to Mr. Willard T. Sears for a contribution 
of $25.00 towards the expenses of publication. 

Respectfully submitted, 

HEMAN A. HARDING, 
WILLIAM G. SMITH, 
SARAH P. KENT, 

Committee on Publication. 

119 



INDEX. 



Address of G. A. Freeman, 

Address of Alpheus H. Hardy, 

Address of James W. Hawes, 

Address of Joseph G. Lincoln, 

Address of William C. Smith, 

Address of F. A. Bisbee, D. D., 

Address of Dr. B. D. Gifford, 

Base Ball, 

Basket Ball, 

Committees, List of * 

Concert and Ball, 

J^inners, 

Financial Report, 

Historic Sites, 

Introductory, 

Invited Guests, 

Parade, 

Reception, 

Residences Decorated, 

Sermon of Rev. Samuel H. Emery, 

Sunday Services, 

Water Carnival, 



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15 
18 
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88 
81 



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